


That Summer

by noellehenry



Category: Hanson (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Family Reunion, First Time, Friendship, Hand Jobs, Little Harry, London, Loss of Identity, M/M, Missing Persons, Mystery, Niall owns a pub, Outer Banks, Romance, Summer Love, little louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-13 20:55:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 41,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4536999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noellehenry/pseuds/noellehenry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is a writer and editor with a troubled past. When his boss orders him to take a vacation, because he’s been working too hard, he decides to go back to Roanoke Village on the Outer Banks in the US.</p>
<p>The place where he and his best friend Liam, spent their summer holiday 2012 and where he enjoyed his summer love with bartender Harry; a young man with a mysterious past.</p>
<p>The summer of 2000 seems to be the key to their past and their future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Summer of 2012 - part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a [rebloggable tumblr post](https://noellehenryfics.tumblr.com/post/171103680961/that-summer-by-noellehenry-rating-mature-archive) for the fic.

“You sure?” Louis asks Liam. He still can’t believe he’s being invited to spend two weeks with his friend and roommate at the family's summer house at the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Louis has never been outside the UK before.

“Yes, of course I’m sure. It’s pretty awesome over there, we can go sail-boarding and swimming. There are many good restaurants, bars and shops. So what do you say?” Liam asks him enthusiastically.

“Yeah… of course, I’d love to!” 

He finds himself on an airplane in August, flying from London to New York and an additional flight to Norfolk International Airport. He’s a bit nervous, he’s never been on a plane before.

“Relax mate, it’s not so bad.” Liam reassures him. Louis sighs.

“I’m sure you’re right, but I can’t help it.” The plane is taking off, Louis’ feels his stomach drop. He takes a deep breath and … wow, they’re flying. He relaxes a bit as he looks through the miniscule window, it’s only a matter of minutes before London has become a dot in Louis’ opinion. They chat a bit, Liam tells him a bit about the Outer Banks and places they could visit. After two hours Liam falls asleep, Louis smiles and puts his earplugs in to listen to some music on his IPhone. 

His first time on a plane going abroad. The longest journey he can remember is when they moved from Southampton to Doncaster when his parents divorced; that was 9 years ago. He and his mum moved back to her place of birth. He went to a new primary school, went to secondary school, but never really felt at home there. The only good thing was the football pitch; he’d loved playing football, he was good at it too. The first couple of years he really missed his old friends, although things had changed after that summer of 2000. Luke, Stan and Oliver moved on and soon forgot about what happened. Louis never really came to terms with it. He’d been having bad dreams, he'd tried talking to his mum about it, but she dismissed it as being one of Louis’ made up stories. In the end he just stopped trying. The memories of that summer began to fade after a few years. He had other issues to worry about. He had a crush on a cute guy from his football team. He wasn’t interested in girls the way his schoolmates were, but he couldn’t tell them he liked boys better. There had been too many negative comments from his school friends about gay guys, so he just pretended to like girls. He’d kissed girls at parties, but never liked it. When asked why he didn’t have a girlfriend, he just shrugged and said he hadn’t found a girl yet he really liked. Basically that was the truth, he just left out the part “and I never will.”  When he finished secondary school he begged his mum to let him study English literature in London, away from the north of the country. It took him a couple of months to convince her that Manchester wasn’t the right option for him. She finally gave in.

In London he met Liam, who soon became his best friend in uni. Liam came from a wealthy family, he studied graphic design and, like Louis, he loved playing football, they were both on the uni’s team.

 

Liam mumbles something in his sleep, Louis can’t quite understand, but it sounds a lot like a name of a girl called Sophia. Louis smiles, he’d have to remember that. Funnily enough, he still hasn’t found a guy he is really interested in. Liam had set him up with a few guys, but none of them were really Louis’ type. Louis appreciates Liam’s efforts, so far it just hadn’t worked out. Liam broke up with a girl about a year ago, since then he really hadn’t bothered finding a new girl. Obviously Louis has missed something, because he can’t recall Liam mentioning a “Sophia”.

 

It’s late in the evening when they finally arrive in Roanoke Village, a quaint little village at Roanoke Island. There’s something peaceful about the place in the dark.

“Is it always this quiet?” Louis asks Liam. Liam starts laughing.

“No, wait until tomorrow. It’s a thriving village, lots of water sports, fishing boats, nice little shops, bars and restaurants at the harbour and …. tourists. Lots of them at this time of year.” Louis smiles, that sounds good. He is looking forward to this holiday. Liam parks the rental car in front of a white cottage with a porch overlooking the bay.

“Wow” Louis whispers “this is beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is…. come on, let’s get our luggage inside.” Liam jumps out of the car and opens the trunk of the car to retrieve their luggage. Louis picks up his own and walks behind Liam up the steps to the door. Liam opens the door and they walk inside. First thing Louis notices is the theme: nautical. Shells, boats, ropes, fish and anchors dominating the decorations. Louis smiles.

Liam grins “I know…. it’s a bit over the top, but my mum loves It.” he explains.

 “Well, it does fit the area.” Louis answers with a chuckle.

“Okay, let’s put our stuff in the bedrooms and then relax with a beer.” Liam walks upstairs. “You better take the room at the front, it’s got beautiful views!” Liam looks over his shoulder. Louis follows him into the bedroom. Another nautical themed room, but more basic than downstairs. There’s a huge bed, facing the window.

“Thanks mate. It’s beautiful.” Louis thanks his friend. 

The next morning Louis wakes up early; the sun peeks through the curtains. Louis slowly rises, stretches his arms and back and walks to the window, carefully opening the curtains. The view takes his breath away. The water is calm, glistening in the sun, there’s a sailing boat floating on the Roanoke Sound. It’s still fairly quiet. Louis decides to put on shorts and a T-shirt and go for a walk. He leaves a note on the kitchen table telling Liam he’s just gone outside for a brief walk. He sneaks out, not wanting to wake Liam. It feels nice outside, not too warm, a slight breeze coming in from the Sound. Louis walks towards the beach. He passes by friendly people walking their dogs saying hello to him, joggers with headphones on their heads and a guy curling himself in impossible positions, according to Louis. 

He sits down in the sand, arms hugging his knees, not far from the acrobatic guy, and watches the boat on the water. It’s kind of peaceful, he feels relaxed. The smell of the sea reminds him of Southampton, but that’s as far as the comparison goes. Southampton was busy, big ships, fishermen, freight ships and noisy. Roanoke Village is quiet, small, friendly and peaceful. He smiles to himself, so far he likes it here.

 

“Hi” a low voice near him says making Louis almost jump. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” the voice apologizes. Louis looks up and sees the acrobatic guy smiling at him.

“Hi, sorry, I was just daydreaming. I see you managed to disentangle yourself. “Louis answers him. The guy bursts out in laughter. Okay, not a bad sight, Louis thinks as he observes him, unruly dark curls held by some kind of bandana, wide green eyes and … he’s got dimples.

“Yeah, my daily routine, yoga.” The guy explains.

“Aha, I see.” Louis never understood why people liked yoga.

“You sound British.” the guy sits down next to him. Right, Louis thinks, he’s got no sense of personal space, as there’s hardly an inch between him and the guy. He smells nice though.

“Yeah, well that’s because I am.” Louis says.

“I’m Harry, by the way. “ The guy introduces himself as he reaches his hand out to Louis. Louis shakes his hand.

“I’m Louis, nice to meet you.” he says oh so politely.

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” Harry inquires. Louis laughs.

“Is this some kind of interrogation?” He can see the blush on Harry’s cheeks.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to, just thought I’d ask. You look kind of familiar though, have you been here before?” Louis shakes his head.

“Nope, very first time I left the British soil. I’m here with my friend Liam, his parents own one of the houses over there.” he points at the houses behind him.

“Liam Payne?” Harry asks raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, you know him?” Louis is surprised.

“Yeah, we’ve met quite a few times. I work here in the summers at Niall’s pub.” Harry smiles.  

“Niall’s pub? Sounds Irish.” Louis says.

“Mr. Horan, the owner, is Irish. His son’s called Niall, he works there too. I’ve got to go now, it was nice meeting you. Come visit the bar tonight we’re doing a pub quiz, bring Liam, he loves it!” Harry gets up and jogs towards a house near the pier. Louis decides to return to the house, his stomach is making funny noises, time for some breakfast. 

He finds Liam sitting on a chair on the porch.

“Hey Tommo, did you have a good walk?” he shouts when he sees Louis approaching.

“Mate this place is fantastic. I woke up early and looked through the window, couldn’t resist to go outside.” Louis sighs.

“Glad you like it here, I made us breakfast, want to eat outside?” Louis nods. They eat their breakfast outside, having a bit of fun at the mailman’s expense who seems to have trouble, keeping his trolley on the path.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. I met a guy on the beach, he said he knew you. Told us to come to Niall’s pub tonight for the pub quiz, he said you love it? Never knew you did!” Liam grins.

“Yeah, they’re hilarious questions, so you met Niall?” Liam informs.

“Nope, some other guy called Harry, said he worked at the pub in the summer?” Louis doesn’t mention he thinks Harry is very fit.

“Right… Harry.” Liam frowns.

“Uhm, why the frown? He seemed like a nice guy.” Louis asks a bit confused.

“He’s okay. Just a bit strange.” Liam says while he looks at the Sound.

“How do you mean strange? “ Louis asks, not that he’s curious… not at all.

“For instance no one knows his last name or where he’s originally from. He never talks about family or friends or anything from his past really.” Liam explains cautiously.

“Oh, I see. You think he’s been in trouble or something, like in jail?” Louis tries.

“Could be, don’t know. It’s just… odd.” Liam says. 

They go grocery shopping at Food Lion’s, that morning.

“Looks like a Tesco.” Louis says. Liam chuckles. Louis keeps comparing American places to British places.

“You sound like a man of the world, mate. “He teases him. It results in a glare from his friend.

“We can’t all be globe-trotters, Payno!” he retorts. Liam just smiles. 

Back at the cottage they put the groceries away and decide to go to the beach for a swim. Louis in a navy speedo and Liam in black swim trunks. It´s extremely busy when they arrive at the beach.

`See? Told you it’s a lot livelier at daytime.” Liam says. True, besides busy on the beach, there are many surfers and boats on the water. “Come on, let’s get into the water. I’ll race you.” Liam shouts as he throws his towel in the sand and runs to the water with Louis on his heels.

“FUCK!” Louis yells when he’s in. “it’s cold!” Liam laughs.

“Never said it was warm, you’ll get used to it.” Louis looks at him in disbelief. His first hunch is to jump out of the water, but he won’t give Liam the satisfaction, he’ll tease him relentlessly. Liam is a skilled swimmer, Louis has trouble keeping up with him. He has to admit the water isn’t as cold anymore now that he’s been in it for a few minutes. He actually likes it. He turns to float on his back for a while, something he remembered doing in the swimming pool years ago. He feels the sun on his face and he can’t help but smile.

”What’s so funny?” he hears a voice next to him. Louis startles and goes under. He feels two hands lifting him. He sputters and coughs, when he’s above water.

“Payno, what was that for?” he pants, still feeling the taste of salt water in his mouth. He’s still in the arms of his friend.  

“Sorry, it’s me… Harry. Didn’t mean to drown you…” The curly guy apologizes. Louis blushes. So it wasn’t Liam. He’s in a cute guy’s arms.

“Oh… it’s you, again.” Louis says. “You make a habit of startling strangers?” he accuses Harry. The blush on Harry’s cheeks doesn’t escape Louis. Still cute, he thinks.

“No… sorry, again.” Harry says. He sounds a bit shy.

“Well, I’ll forgive you, since you so kindly saved me from drowning too. You can let go of me now.” Louis informs him, trying to keep from smiling. Harry blushes even more as he let’s go of Louis. Louis starts swimming back, after a few strokes he looks back. “You’re coming?” he asks with a grin. Harry smiles and swims after him. Once on the beach Louis walks towards his towel. Liam’s already lying on his’ and watching Louis with a smirk from behind his aviator’s. “What?” he asks.

“Looks like Harry likes you.” he says, just in time before Harry could hear him.

“Hi Harry, long time no see.” Liam greets him.

“Hi Liam, good to see you.”  Harry replies with a smile.

“So you’ve met my friend and roommate already I heard.” Harry nods and glances at Louis, who’s just watching them talk. That is to say, he’s trying. The tiny yellow shorts low on Harry’s hips together with his long wet curls are a bit distracting.  “So it’s quiz time tonight at the pub, Louis said. We’ll be there.” Liam grins.

“You’ll like it. Niall’s made up some hilarious questions. “Harry grins back.

“Ah, can I get some info? Like, what’s the theme?” Liam tries. Harry shakes his head.

“Nope.”  

“Aww, come on… just a tiny bit of info for your British friends. “ Liam begs, puppy eyes and all. Louis bursts out in laughter.

“Mate, you’re pathetic!” he exclaims. Harry is laughing too, a dimple appearing on each cheek.

”I have to go, my shift starts in half an hour. See you guys, tonight.” Harry turns and walks away. Louis’ eyes following him.

“You like him?” Liam asks.

“He’s fit, can’t deny it.” Louis admits as he sits down on his towel next to Liam.

“Think it’s mutual.” Liam smiles. 

That night they walk to the pub, only a short walk from the Payne cottage. It’s still pretty busy in the village, couples walking hand in hand, people sitting on terraces enjoying dinner. The old-fashioned lamp posts illuminating the street in the dusk, flower baskets rocking softly in the breeze. They walk past a small bookshop, tucked away between a flower shop and a coffee shop. Louis stands still.

“Liam, can we go in, please?” he asks softly.

“Sure.” Liam knows Louis has a passion for books and stories. The door’s open to let some cool air in, they walk inside. Behind the counter is a lady wrapping up a book as a gift for a customer. Louis walks towards the shelves with books about the Outer Banks picking a few out and putting them back again, then moves on to the literature section running his fingers over some titles: American editions of some of his favourite books. On the opposite side there’s the children’s section. He sees some familiar titles and smiles as he recognizes a few he’s read as a child. Then he turns around. Liam’s talking to the lady behind the counter. He joins him. “Louis, this is Rosie. She owns the shop.” Rosie holds out her hand and shakes Louis’.

“Nice to meet you Louis. Liam tells me you love books and you study English literature.” Louis nods. “I have some fine books you’ll like.” She offers a few names and Louis is surprised she actually knows all the books by one of his favourite authors. Soon they’re discussing books, forgetting all about Liam. Rosie tells Louis she gets new orders in the next day, quite some interesting titles he might like. Louis agrees to come back the next day.

Outside Louis sighs and confesses “I’d love to own a shop like that one day.”

“Who knows, maybe you will in future.” Liam wraps an arm around Louis’ shoulder and together they walk to the pub. 

Niall’s pub is nestled in a small alley near the pier. They can hear U2’s “Magnificent” from the main road. Liam turns left into the alley. The pub is a typical Irish pub: Niall’s pub in golden letters in a Celtic font on the front. On the left the Irish flag proudly waving in the evening breeze. The door’s open, there are four tables and chairs outside, where a few guests are enjoying their drinks and a cigarette. They step inside. It’s already fairly busy.

“Come I’ll introduce you to Niall.” Liam says as he guides Louis to the bar. A guy with a blonde quiff hurries from behind the bar and hugs Liam.

“Payno! Good to see you. Harry told me you were in town.” Liam hugs him back. “And this must be Louis! Harry mentioned you brought a guest from England. I’m Niall. “Louis wants to reach out his hand, but the Irish guy already has him already in an embrace.

“Nice to meet you, Niall. “ Louis smiles when he’s released by Niall.

“First drinks are on the house, what are you having?” Niall walks back to his place behind the bar.

“A Guinness, of course. “ Liam grins.

“Me too, thanks.” Louis replies. He looks around: pictures of Irish celebs in frames hanging on one wall. Posters advertising Irish whisky and beer on another wall. Loud music from the speakers, Niall singing along from his spot behind the bar.

“Here ya go, lads.” he puts the drinks in front of them and turns to help another customer.

“Is Niall originally from Ireland?” Louis wants to know. Liam nods.

“Yeah, he came here with his parents and brother when he was eight years old.”

“I see: that explains his accent.” Louis takes a sip from his beer. More people come in and soon it’s pretty crowded. Liam is greeted by some of the customers. They get an invitation to come surfing the next day, which Liam accepts enthusiastically. Louis is not so sure; he’s never been on a surfboard before. He tells Liam so when they’re alone again.

“Ah mate, you’re good at sports; I’m sure you’ll do fine. We’ll teach you the basics: I’ve been surfing for years, it really is great.” Liam reassures him. Louis sighs, fine he’ll give it a go.

“Okay people, quiz time!” Niall yells through the microphone. The crowd shouts and Niall grins. Liam enters himself and Louis as team “The Brits”. The questions are hilarious, alright.

“Why is a carrot more orange than an orange? Seriously?” Louis smirks. Liam laughs.

“Told you, Niall has the weirdest questions.”  They miss a lot of questions and end up having only ten answers right, but they have a lot of fun. Liam orders them drinks with another bartender.

 “Louis, this is Greg, Niall’s brother.” Greg nods and smiles.

“Nice to meet you.” Louis replies. He’s wondering where Harry is, he hasn’t seen him yet. “Uhm Liam, have you seen Harry?” he asks.

“No, he’s probably in the kitchen or at the back.” Liam answers him. Louis tries not to show his disappointment. They stay for another half an hour and then decide to leave. They wave goodbye at Niall and walk back to the cottage. It’s a bit chilly so they walk a steady pace.

“You often go to the pub when you’re here?” Louis asks Liam.

“Yeah or go to the Beach Club. It’s great they often have DJ’s and there´s a great dancefloor. I’ll take you there on Saturday, you’ll like it.” Louis smiles, he likes dancing. At the cottage they walk to their respective bedrooms and say goodnight. Louis lies awake for a while. He likes it here; lovely beaches, great atmosphere, nice people. He sighs, too bad he hasn’t seen Harry tonight, he would have loved to chat some more with the curly boy and his beautiful green eyes. 

Louis is learning the surfing basics from Liam and a guy called Daniel. They’ve established he’s a regular foot and he’s been practicing popping up on the board on the sand. According to Daniel he’s a quick learner. Daniel shows him how to fasten the leash and teaches him to watch the ocean, see the waves, when to start paddling and soon Louis is in the water catching his first waves. He actually enjoys it a lot.

Liam grins “I knew you’d like It.” he says when they’re both sitting on their boards in shallow water, taking a break. “I see you have an admirer.” Liam tells Louis while points his head towards the beach. Louis follows Liam’s gaze and sees a curly haired guy sitting in the sand watching them. They wave at him, Harry waves back. Louis hops off the board and carries it under his arm to the beach.

“Hey.” he says when he reaches Harry. The curly boy looks up at him smilingly.

“Hi.” he says softly. “Becoming a surfer boy?”

Louis laughs. “First time. Liam and Daniel just taught me the basics. I like it.” he answers.

“Never learned it, way too clumsy keeping my balance on a board in the water.” Harry admits.

“Didn’t see you last night. You were right though, the quiz was fun; too bad we failed completely.” Louis sighs.

Harry grins. “Yeah, Niall is great in finding the most ridiculous questions for the quiz. I’m sorry I missed you, it was busy so I had to stay behind, clearing away orders that came in late and cleaning the kitchen.”

“How many nights a week do you work?” Louis inquires.

“At least five, sometimes six if it’s extremely busy, why?” Harry looks at him with his eyebrows raised.

“Nothing really, just wondering.” Louis says quickly. “You know the Beach Club? “ Harry nods.

“Yeah, not really my scene, I’m not a dancer.”

“Oh” Louis says, he feels a bit disappointed. “Liam is taking me there Saturday night, he says I’ll probably like it since I like dancing.”

“You probably will. It’s a popular place. I usually go to Number 20, kind of what Niall calls a hipster club with live music.” Harry confesses. Louis nods.

“Sounds cool.”                                                                                                                    

 “I’m off on Sunday night… uhm if you’d like to come along?” Harry looks at him expectantly. Louis blushes.

“Yeah… yeah I’d love to.”

“Great, looking forward to it.” Harry beams.

Louis smiles “Yeah, me too.” 

“So, you’ve got yourself a date?” Liam teases. Louis blushes.

“Not sure… kind of?” he really isn’t sure, but whatever… a night out with Harry can’t be bad. They’re having a late lunch together at the Beach Café.

“What do you mean, not sure? The guy is clearly interested in you.” Liam mumbles with his mouth full.

“You think so?” Louis asks a bit unsure. He’s not bad looking, but he finds himself pretty ordinary compared to some of the muscular guys on the beach.

“I do!” Liam confirms, his tone serious.

“Guess, I’m going on a date then.” he says.

”You’re more successful than I am.” Liam sighs.

“Hmm, how about Sophia?” Louis smirks, remembering the girl’s name Liam so innocently mentioned in his sleep.

Liam turns pink and stutters “How… w-what…? “ Louis can’t help but laugh.

“You talk in your sleep mate. You were mumbling the name on the plane… so …. Care to explain?”

“Oh geez, I talk in my sleep? Uhm… I met Sophia in a club in London, a few times. I kind of like her, that’s all really. We talked a bit. She’s pretty.” Liam tells him.

“Well, that’s good… isn’t it?” Louis raises his eyebrows.

“I suppose so, not sure she really likes me though.” Liam looks at him with sad eyes. Louis pats his friend on the shoulder.

“Guess you need to find out, once we’re back, won't you?” 

They go swimming after lunch and lay on the beach working on a sun tan.

“You lazy bones!” They hear an Irish accent calling out to them.

“Hey Niall!” Liam greets him. “Some of us do have holidays, you know. “He points out to the Irish guy. Niall grins.

“Lucky bastards!” Niall plops down next to Liam. “Didn’t get a chance to proper talk to you last night. How long are you staying?”  

“Two weeks! Doing absolutely nothing but relaxing and having fun. Gonna show Louis some sights and we’re going to the Beach Club Saturday night, dancing the night away.” Liam says in a lazy voice.

“Sounds good. You’ve been to the States before?” Niall asks Louis. Louis shakes his head.

“No, first time I’m abroad. Never been outside the UK before.” he admits to Niall.

“Hope you’ll enjoy yourself, mate. It’s a great place for a summer holiday. “Niall smiles at him.

“He’s already got himself a date. “Liam tells him, smirking at Louis, making him blush. Niall whistles.

“Anyone I know?”

“Oh yeah…. Harry.” Liam grins. Niall raises his eyebrows, looking at Liam.

“Really?”

Liam nods. Niall looks at Louis for more information.

“Uhm… well he invited me over to Number 20 on Sunday night?” Louis offers weakly. Why was it such a big deal, Harry asking him to come along?

“I see.” Niall says. “Well guys, enjoy your day. See ya! “When Niall is gone, Louis decides it’s time to ask.

“Okay, what was that all about? Is it so strange that Harry might want to go out with me? I mean, I’m not that bad looking am I? “

"No, no… it’s not that!” Liam quickly reassures him.

“So what is? Is Harry straight … is that what this is about?” Louis inquires, suddenly aware of the fact that he doesn’t know Harry's preferences. He assumed Harry liked guys. Liam shakes his head.

“Don’t know really. Always assumed he likes both sexes. He seems to get along with everyone.”

“Then what is?” Louis snaps at Liam, he’s becoming impatient and annoyed.

“Harry never dates.” Liam says bluntly.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Louis is really pissed.

“Just like I said. Harry once said he doesn’t date and he sounded serious about it, that’s all. “Liam shrugs.

“Well maybe he’s changed his mind.” Louis snaps.

“Maybe.” Liam says softly. 

By Friday Louis feels really confident on the surfboard; he’s really enjoying it to Liam’s delight, because Liam loves it as much as Louis does. So they spend most of their days on the board, sometimes with Daniel and his friends or Niall and his brother Greg, when they can spare the time. Only drawback is the lack of Harry being around. According to Niall Harry has some private matters to deal with. Louis feels a bit disappointed, he’s not even sure Harry still remembers their date on Sunday.

On Saturday morning he wakes up early and gets up for a stroll along the beach. He just steps onto the sand when he sees Harry sitting on a rock with a camera, taking pictures of a boat that lies at anchor in the Sound. It’s a big ship, reminds him of a tall ship he’s seen as a child. He walks up to Harry.

“Hi.” he says carefully. He doesn’t want to startle him like Harry tends to do. Harry looks up with a big smile on his face, putting the camera in his lap.

“Nice ship.” Louis says as he nods towards the ship.

“Yeah, I like tall ships.” Harry beams at Louis. Louis sits down next to Harry on the rock.

“Only seen a tall ship like that once before. It truly is magnificent.” Louis smiles back. “So you like taking pictures?” he continues pointing to the camera. Harry nods.

“I always have. My brother is a professional photographer. He specializes in nature photography. I learned a lot from him.” Harry says as he takes another few pictures of the ship.

“Ah, so it runs in the family.” Louis smiles. Harry looks up from his camera and stares at Louis and then shakes his head.

“Not really. He’s more of a step brother to me.”

“Oh, I see.” Louis says.

“No, you don’t. “ Harry says curtly as he takes more snaps. Louis sits in silence, not sure what to answer. He didn’t say anything wrong, did he?

“Do you want to become a professional photographer too?”  Louis tries to pick up the conversation again. Harry frowns staring at the water.

“Haven’t really thought about it, but… yes, maybe. I’m not sure if I’m any good.” he answers.

“What do you study then?” Louis asks curiously.

“Nothing, just go from job to job. Spend most summers here. You?” Harry looks at him.

“I’m studying English literature. Probably become an editor. My dream is to write storybooks for children. I always had a vivid imagination. “Louis replies passionately... Harry looks at him with soft eyes.

“That is great Louis. Nice to have a goal. I never had, I’ve always been living by the day.” Louis blushes lightly as he feels Harry’s eyes on him. This is the first real conversation between them and Louis likes it, getting to know the boy sitting next to him.

“You never had a dream of what you wanted to do or be in the future, not even as a child?” Louis asks quietly as he tilts his head a little to face Harry. Harry frowns again, somehow the frown and the look in his eyes remind Louis of someone, but he doesn’t know anyone that looks like Harry.

Then Harry suddenly smiles widely “Oh yeah, I remember when I was very young I wanted to travel the world, going on adventure….like most kids do I suppose. Guess some of it I do…. I travel a lot …. Just not the world, but the US.” He laughs and Louis joins him.

“Have you ever been outside the US? I mean it’s my first time out of the UK …. Ever.” Louis admits.

“No, I haven’t, but maybe… one day I will.” Harry says, then his phone buzzes. “Oops, it’s late I have to go, don’t want to get in trouble with the Horans. Have fun tonight at the Beach Club!”

“Thanks, I will. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, meet me at 9 pm outside Niall’s pub.” Harry gets up and smiles at Louis. “Looking forward to show you some real music.” he winks and then leaves. Louis shakes his head with a smile as he watches Harry leaving. He’s beautiful in his cut-off jeans and tight T-shirt, his curls waving in the wind. Louis sighs as he tells himself he’s only here for two weeks, he shouldn’t fall for some American guy he’ll never see again when he leaves, but that’s going to be a tough job. He feels attracted to him, his beautiful green eyes, plush pink lips, dimples in his cheeks, gorgeous smile, chocolate coloured curls. Not to mention his small bum, long legs and toned body. Add a nice dark voice to that and Harry is pretty much Louis’ dream guy.

“Life is not fair! Why can’t he be British and living in London? “He mumbles to himself as he walks slowly back to the house. 

“Isn’t it great here?” Liam shouts at Louis.

“Yeah, it’s fun. “Louis shouts back. They’re at the Beach Club. The music is loud, lots of people dancing and laughing. They’ve been dancing too, but taking a break. They head towards the bar to order drinks.

“Hey Liam, Louis! Over here! “They find Daniel and his friends at the bar. “You like it here, Louis?” Daniel asks.

“Yeah, it’s a great place, nice atmosphere. Good music!” Louis replies with a smile. “Liam loves the place.” he adds.

“I know! This is the place where we met him last year. He loves to dance. “Daniel grins and points to the dancefloor, where….. Alright so Liam was on it again, dancing with a blonde girl. “That’s my older sister. “ Daniel explains with a grin when he sees Louis rolling his eyes at Liam.

“She likes dancing as much as Liam does. Last year they spent two hours straight on that dancefloor dancing as if they were in some contest. “Louis laughs.

“Didn’t know he liked dancing that much!” he confesses.

 “So you’re enjoying your stay so far?” Daniel hands Louis a beer.

“Yeah, it’s great. I really love surfing: thanks for teaching me.” Louis beams.

Daniel grins “You’re welcome, mate. It’s always good to hear someone loves it the way we do. Have you seen the surroundings yet?” 

“No, not yet. Liam’s planning on hiring a jeep next week to show me the area.” Daniel nods approvingly. “You should ask Niall to come along, he knows a lot. You know Niall, right?”

“Yeah, I do. He’s great fun! His pub quiz is hilarious.” Louis grins.

 “Ah so you’ve been to the pub.”

“Yep, tonight the Beach Club and tomorrow night Number 20.” Louis takes a sip from his beer.

”Really? Didn’t think Liam likes Number 20. “Daniel exclaims in surprise.

“Oh no… I’m going with Harry.” Louis corrects him.

“Harry? Curly guy from the pub? “Daniel asks.

“Yeah.”

“Haven’t seen him much this summer. He’s a nice guy, just a little strange sometimes.” Daniel informs him.

“So I hear.” Louis confirms.

“Number 20 has some decent bands and singers, it’s a great place if you want to hear live music.” Daniel says and then grins at someone behind Louis. Liam and his dance partner are panting heavily. “Need a drink Ginger and Fred?” Daniel smirks, Louis grins as he sees Liam leaning his hands on his thighs, bending forward, trying to catch his breath.

“I’m really out of practice.” he pouts. Louis pats his shoulder.

“You two were fantastic, you should get a medal for your effort.”  

“Thanks mate, by the way, this is Prudence, Daniel’s sister.” Liam introduces the girl to Louis. Prudence smiles and shakes Louis’ hand.

“I hear you’re Liam’s roommate and friend, nice to meet you.” she says warmly. “Hope you enjoy your vacation so far.” she says with a smile. They talk a bit and Louis is pleased to hear Prudence likes books just as much as he does. They exchange book titles the other one should read. Prudence gives Louis names of bookshops in the area he should check out.

The boys have a great night out with Daniel, his friends and sister.

“Wow that was fantastic!” Louis says when they reach the house, both not too drunk, but definitely tipsy.

“Yeah, they’re nice people.” Liam agrees as he falls on the couch in the living room. Louis takes his shoes off and walks to the kitchen for a glass of water.

“You want one too?” he yells. There’s no answer. When he returns to the living room, he finds Liam snoring on the couch. He picks a quilt from the chest and covers his friend “Sweet dreams” he whispers smilingly before he walks upstairs to his room. 

“What should I wear? Liam… please, help. I want to look good!” Louis shouts from upstairs.

“What did you bring? Did you bring those red pants?” Liam asks with a grin as he sees Louis’ clothes spread on the bed and a desperate looking Louis sitting between the piles of garments.

“Yes…. they’re good? Not too bright?” Louis genuinely looks concerned. Liam sighs.

“Mate, they’re perfect on you. Add the white striped T-shirt and you’ll look fab.” he reassures him. Louis puts on the pants and the T-shirt, he’s not totally convinced, but Liam’s right: he looks good in them. He sighs.

“Is it weird that I’m nervous?” he asks Liam shyly.

“No, you don’t know the club, you don’t know Harry well. I’d be nervous too, but I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Liam says as he wraps an arm around his shoulder. “Have fun, mate…. I mean it.” Liam smiles at him. “Now, off you go.” he pushes Louis softly out of the bedroom and waves from the door as Louis leaves. 

He walks past the bookshop, waving at Rosie who’s closing the door and left into the alley to the pub. Outside Harry is talking to Greg, Niall’s brother. They smile at him.

“Ready to hear some real music?” Harry winks at him. Greg laughs.

“Sounds like you’re trying to convert him.” Harry grins at Greg.

“It would be a shame if Louis never got a taste of the great live music around here on the Outer Banks and is only exposed to Irish music and club music.” Greg laughs even harder and walks into the pub.

“I take it you’re the only one around here that goes to Number 20?” Louis asks Harry curiously.

“Yeah, Niall comes along when he’s got a night off, but most of the people you’ve met are either going to the Beach Club or to the pub.” Harry informs him with a smile.

“Now I’m curious. Do you know who’s playing? “

“Actually it’s one of my friends. He’s a singer-songwriter, you’ll like him …. He’s British too!” 

Number 20 is just a short walk from Niall’s pub, like the pub it’s hidden in an alley. A black sign with grey letters tells Louis they’ve arrived. Compared to the club and the pub it’s pretty quiet. Inside it’s dark, a small circle in the middle with a barstool and a microphone indicates there’s going to be live music. Harry orders them two beers and they pick a seat near the circle.

“Hey Harry! “ A ginger haired guy with pale skin dressed in black pants and black T-shirt stands in front of them.

“Hi Ed, ready to play?” Harry stands to hug the guy.

“So who’s your friend?”

“Ed this is Louis, Louis meet Ed; he’s going to play tonight.”

“Hello Ed, nice to meet you. Can’t wait to hear you play. Harry tells me this is the place to come to, to hear real music.” Louis shakes Ed’s hand. Ed laughs.

“Sounds like Harry. You’re British?”  

“100 %” Louis admits with a grin.

“I’m part British and part Irish” Ed tells him. “Harry has a thing for the Brits.” Ed winks at Louis. Harry blushes.

“Oh… does he now?” Louis wiggles his eyebrows looking at Harry. Ed smiles knowingly.

“Hey… I like the accent, alright?” Harry says defensively making both Ed and Louis laugh. 

Ed sings a few songs and to be honest Louis is quite impressed. He likes the sound of Ed’s voice and the lyrics to his songs. He tells Harry so. Harry beams as if he personally discovered Ed. Louis chuckles. Ed joins them during his break. Ed tells Louis he’s from Suffolk. Louis tells him he grew up in the south, but moved to the north with his mum when he was 10 years old and that he hasn’t been back since.

 When Ed finishes his gig that night, he drinks another beer with them and then leaves. It’s way past midnight when Harry and Louis leave.

“So tell me, what did you think of Ed?” Harry asks when they walk back towards the cottages near the beach.

“He’s amazing. He deserves to become famous.” Louis knows he sounds maybe a little too excited, but he feels pretty tipsy, he can always blame the booze. Harry grins.

“Told you he’s good.” They’re almost at the Payne cottage  

“I had a great night, thanks for taking me.” Louis smiles up at Harry. He’s feeling brave and leans in, his lips touching Harry’s softly in a kiss. He feels Harry freezing, not returning the kiss. He opens his eyes in embarrassment and diverts them to the ground, quickly stepping back and mumbling

“Sorry.”  He hardly dares to glance up, when he does he sees Harry nervously biting his lip. “See you around, yeah?” he whispers, Harry nods. Louis turns around and quickly walks to the door of the cottage, not glancing back. When he closes the door he leans against it, his hands covering his head. That was embarrassing, he should have known it wasn’t a date. Liam warned him, heck… even Niall had been acting surprised, Harry had not made a move on him all night. How could he be so stupid? Had he been reading too much into their encounters?  He was sure Harry had been flirting with him. He walks upstairs to his room, undresses, brushes his teeth, splashing cold water on his face and slips under the covers. It takes a while before he falls asleep.


	2. Summer of 2012 - part 2

“How was your date?” Liam asks the next morning when Louis walks into the kitchen, yawning and with a headache.

“It wasn’t a date.” he groans, remembering last night. Liam raises his eyebrows, hands Louis a cup of tea.

”What happened?” Louis plumps down on a chair at the breakfast table.

“Don’t ask… I made a fool of myself.” he replies, head in his hands, elbows leaning on the table.

“Oh mate… care to tell?” Liam sits on the opposite side of the table.

“Number 20 is a great place. I really liked it. One of Harry’s friends was playing, a guy called Ed. He’s amazing. He joined us for a chat and a drink. It was fun.” Louis tells his friend and then in defeat “I kissed him, Liam and he just … froze on the spot, didn’t say a word. I apologized, but he just stood there. Don’t think I’ll be seeing him anymore.” With a moan he let his head sink on his arms on the table.

“That sucks, Lou. I’m so sorry. Don’t know what’s wrong with him. I really thought he liked you… you know, really like you.” Liam answers. A cautious tone in his voice makes Louis look up.

“That’s what I thought too, Liam, but obviously not. Must have misread the signs.” he feels sad. “Let’s go surfing today, okay?” he continues, changing the subject.

Liam smiles. “Good plan.” 

It’s still quiet on the beach when they arrive. Just a few other surfers greeting them, an elderly couple taking a walk. It’s a bit clouded and there’s a sturdy breeze; perfect for surfing. They join the others on the waves, competing and laughing. Louis still feels a sadness and a slight headache, but he refuses to let last night’s unfortunate ending spoil his fun. He still has more than a week left here, he’s determined to make it fun.

“Hey isn’t that the guy from Niall’s pub on the beach? He’s waving.” One of their fellow surfers shouts. They all look.

“Yeah, that’s him. Not sure who he wants, you guys know him?” the blonde guy asks Liam and Louis. They look at each other quickly.

“Yeah, we do. I’ll go.” Liam offers. He gives Louis a reassuring smile and paddles to the beach. Louis watches them. It’s like watching a pantomime, both Liam and Harry gesturing with their hands, Harry dropping his head at something Liam says. After a few minutes Liam gets back on his board and paddles back to Louis. Harry sits down in the sand, hands around his knees.

“He wants to talk to you. I already told him off, but he insists.” Liam says when he’s near Louis, their boards almost colliding.

“What do you think I should do?” Louis dreads going to the beach.

“I think you should, he sounded serious and a little desperate.” Liam replies softly. Louis heaves out a sigh.

“Better face the music then.” and makes his way to the beach.

He removes the leash from his ankle and walks towards Harry who’s still sitting in the sand watching him. Louis feels the nerves in his stomach and doesn’t know what to say, so all that comes out is a shy sounding “Hi.” Harry looks up at him with a blush on his cheeks.

“Hi.” he whispers. To avoid an awkward silence Louis comes straight to the point, no point in avoiding the subject, he thinks. “Liam tells me you want to talk to me.” It sounds like a questioned statement.

“Yeah…. uhm can we go somewhere a bit more private?” Harry asks softly. Louis nods.

“Yeah… sure, wanna go to the rocks?”

“Yeah… okay.” Harry stands up. Louis picks up his towel to dry off and together they walk to the rocks, where Louis met Harry earlier that week with his camera.

It’s quiet on the Sound, not many ships today. “So… uhm about last night…” Harry starts, staring at the Sound.

“Yeah, sorry about that, got a bit carried away, must have been the alcohol.”  Louis quickly interrupts.

“Oh...I didn’t mind… not really.” Harry whispers, still staring at the water.

“Oh? Then why …?” Louis begins.

“Not used to it. I never go on dates.” Harry glances at Louis.

“So I heard.” Louis replies softly.

“Oh…” is all Harry says, he doesn’t sound really surprised.

“Liam and … well guess Niall in a way too said so.” Louis explains. “It’s okay, you know...we can still hang out if you want.” he continues.

“No… no. I mean you’re the first person ever I asked out. It’s just, I got a bit scared, didn’t know what you expected of me.” Harry says shyly. “But I do want to go out again and I do want to kiss you.” he admits, his cheeks now bright red. Louis brushes his thumb over Harry’s hand.

“I think you’re very sweet and I really had a great time with you last night. I’d love to go out again.” he says softly, still brushing Harry’s hand. Harry looks up at him and smiles back when he sees Louis smiling at him.

“Would you come with me tomorrow on the Sound? The Horans have a small motorboat, I’d love to show you a few spots… if you want.” Harry sounds a bit more confident now and Louis finds it endearing.

“I’d love to come.” A big smile spreads on Harry’s face, both dimples on display. And really, Louis thinks, who can say no to a smiling Harry? 

The motorboat is indeed small. There’s only room for two people and somehow it makes Louis feel a bit nervous when they take off at a considerable speed.

“You look a bit pale, scared?” Harry asks worriedly.

“A-a little...” Louis stutters.

“I’m sorry, I’ll slow down. Wanna sit next to me?” Harry points next to him and Louis nods. Harry lowers speed and takes Louis’ hand to help him change seats.

“Thanks.” Louis utters gratefully. Harry smiles and wraps an arm around Louis’ waist, the other arm steering the boat. Louis leans a bit towards Harry. He feels much more confident and safe being close to Harry. He sighs. Harry glances at him.

“Better?”

“Yeah… much better. Sorry, I’m usually not such a baby. I’ve never been on a boat on the water before, the size of the boat and the speed made me feel like we could turnover any minute, just didn’t feel good. Does that make sense?” Louis looks up shyly at Harry. Harry squeezes his waist a bit.

”I understand, I’m glad you were being honest. Just tell me if I go to fast or if you don’t feel good, promise?”

“I will, thanks for understanding.”

 Harry slows the boat a bit and points ahead of them. “We’re going to the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It’s a strenuous climb, but worth it. From the lighthouse you have great views over Bodie Island, Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound. Is that alright?” Harry asks him.

Louis smiles “Yeah, sounds great… sure.”

“I brought lunch for us on board” Harry says pointing at the basket on the floor.

“Good! Don’t you have to work today?” Louis wonders.

“Yeah, but I’m on the late shift, don’t start until 7 pm.”

 They leave the boat at a ramp and walk the distance to the lighthouse. Harry buys them tickets and after a quarter of an hour waiting time, they go up with a bunch of people, climbing the 200 steps. When they reach the top, Harry leads him to the other side, they stand close next to each other. The view is amazing.

“This was one of the places I visited when I came here first. I loved seeing the ocean from up here… still do.” Harry admits in a soft voice. Louis is still taking in the views.

“It’s beautiful….serene, quiet.” he almost whispers to Harry. “Thanks for showing me.” Harry turns to Louis, bends his head a little. Louis looks up and they are so close he can feel Harry’s breath on his skin. Harry closes the gap between them, his lips softly brushing over Louis’ and then he’s kissing him. Louis responds hesitantly. They stand there for a while just softly kissing each other. When they breakaway from each other, there’s a smile on Harry’s face. Louis wraps his arms around Harry’s waist and they both watch the ocean for a while, Louis’ head against Harry’s chest, before they are summoned down by a guide. 

When they’re back in Roanoke Village, they find it difficult to say goodbye. On the boat on their way back, Louis had been seated next to Harry, almost glued to his side, leaning his head against the taller boy’s chest, arms around his waist, while Harry had been steering them back to the village. Harry had been peppering small kisses on top of Louis’ head, making him giggle like a teenager.

“I really have to go, don’t want the Horan’s get mad at me for being late.” Harry sighs as he lets go of Louis’ waist. Louis leans in for one last kiss.

“I understand. Guess I’ll have to persuade Liam to have dinner at the pub tonight. “He says smilingly. Harry smiles back.

“Good idea.” And he pecks Louis’ nose and then walks towards the pub. 

“Mate you look like you’re on cloud 9.” Liam teases him when he sets foot in the cottage.

“I am.” he beams at Liam.

“Take it you had a good day with Harry?”  

“The best!” Louis confirms with a big smile. “Ah... which reminds me… would you mind having dinner at the pub?” Liam laughs.

“My cooking not to your taste anymore, Tommo?” Louis softly kicks Liam’s leg.

“You know, that’s not what I mean!”

“Is fine. Let’s have a decent Irish meal tonight.” Liam gives in, shaking his head laughing when Louis does a celebration dance in front of him. 

As usual it’s busy at the pub. They find a booth in the corner at the far end, close to a speaker, where Sinead O’Connor is singing Mandinka, not really Louis’ taste, especially the high notes make him scrunch his face. They order a beef stew each at the bar with Greg. Niall is at the other side of the bar taking orders and Louis guesses Harry’s in the kitchen with Maura, Niall and Greg’s mum. They wait for their order to be served and make plans for the next day. Liam is going to show Louis the highlights on the island. Harry walks towards them, apron around his waist, carrying two plates with their beef stew.

“Hi guys!” he smiles, while he sets the plates in front of them. “I see you persuaded Liam.” he winks at Louis.

“Yeah… wasn’t that hard to be honest.” Louis grins.

“Have you got plans for tomorrow?” Harry inquires.

“Liam here is going to show me the tourist spots.” Louis answers. Harry’s face falls.

“Oh, of course… yes, you should see them!” he says quickly.

 “Enjoy your meal and have a nice day tomorrow!” Harry swiftly turns on his heel and disappears from sight.

“What was that all about?” Liam raises his eyebrows at Louis.

“I have no idea.” Louis sighs, a bit disappointed at Harry’s abrupt retreat.

“Well, let’s enjoy dinner.” Liam says picking up his fork and knife. Louis nods.

 

Later that night, Prudence and Daniel drop in and soon Liam and Daniel are discussing surfing again, making Prudence sigh desperately.

“Honestly, don’t they have anything else to talk about?” she complains to Louis who just chuckles.

“Let’s talk about books! Have you heard about the charity book fair, Rosie is holding? “She asks Louis, who is suddenly very interested.

“No… tell me about it.” Prudence explains Rosie organises the fair every year in summer, selling second hand books donated by the community.

“I help setting up the stalls, but we could use some help sorting the books. Would you be interested?” she asks hopeful. Louis beams.

“I’d love to. Tell me when and where and I’ll be there.” Prudence quickly pecks him on the cheek.

“You’re an angel!” she exclaims. Daniel raises his eyebrows at his sister.

“What did he do to become an angel?” he wants to know. Liam grins.

“Louis is going to help sort the books for Rosie’s fair.” Daniel grins.

“Good luck mate. I tried to help last year, but they just sent me away.” he informs Louis as he downs the last of his beer.

“You were rubbish.” his sister accuses him. “He put a few erotic thrillers in the box for children’s books.” she justifies Rosie's and her decision. Louis and Liam both burst out in laughter while Daniel just shrugs. 

Louis doesn’t see much of Harry that night, every now and then he bursts through the kitchen door hands full of plates. Louis walks up to Niall, who’s cleaning glasses behind the bar.

“Hey mate, you’re leaving?”

“Yeah, you think I could say goodbye to Harry quickly?” Louis asks a bit nervously, he doesn’t know how much Harry’s told Niall.

“Sure, I’ll give him a shout.” and … he does. “Harry… Louis wants to say goodbye.”  He winks at Louis. Oh… so he did say something. Harry comes through the door and motions for Louis to come with him through a back door.

“Hey, didn’t get to see you much tonight.” Louis wraps his arms around Harry’s waist. He takes in the smells of the kitchen that are surrounding Harry. Harry wraps his’ around Louis’ neck.

“Yeah, it’s been a busy night. Can’t wait for it to be over, I’m bushed!” he says as his eyes roam over Louis’ lips. He leans in and brushes his lips over Louis’.

“Wish I could come with you.” he whispers longingly in Louis’ ear. Louis swallows.

“Me too….. me too.” he whispers back and pulls Harry’s body flush to his’ so Harry can feel his arousal.

“Fuck” Harry groans. He claims Louis’ mouth hungrily, surprising him with the sudden passion. Their tongues are tangling, licking in each other’s mouths. Louis’ hands gripping Harry’s bum to pull him as close as possible. Then Harry breaks the kiss, they’re both panting, red cheeks and glassy eyes.

“I have to go back, I wish I didn’t have to…” he apologizes while biting his lower lip.

“It’s alright, I know, I understand. I’m sorry I already made plans with Liam tomorrow.” Louis touches Harry’s cheek with his hand.

“Don’t be, you should see the sights, you’re only here for a short while. I …. uhm, sort of swapped shifts with Greg tomorrow, so I’m off early tomorrow night…” Harry confesses shyly. Louis smiles softly.

” That’s great. Come round to the cottage after your shift… okay?” Harry beams. “Now go back to Maura, before she fires you!” he pushes Harry softly to the door. Harry grins and gives Louis a quick kiss on the cheek and then steps inside. 

The next day goes by fast, Liam showing him Fort Raleigh National Historic site, which takes up most of the day and they end their day out in idyllic Manteo, having an early dinner before returning home. Louis is glad Liam’s driving so he can take a nap in the passenger’s seat. 

“Uhm Louis, wake up…. we’re back and I think someone’s waiting for you on the steps.” Liam nudges Louis’ shoulder.

“Oh sorry.... geez, I was really fast asleep.” Louis apologizes to Liam. “I’m really sorry, what crap company I’ve been.” He pouts at Liam.

“Go… it’s fine. Don’t keep Harry waiting. I’m going to take a nap upstairs.” he winks. 

“Sorry… have you been waiting long?” Louis almost stumbles on the steps, still not totally awake.

“Hi sleepy head, no I’ve just arrived. Thought you might be a little later. Wanna walk to the rock?” Louis nods, some fresh air will do him good. They get up and Harry takes his hand. Together they walk over the beach to the rock. Harry jumps on it and sits down, pulling Louis against his side.

“I love sitting here this time of year when the sun sets, all the people gone, safe for a few people walking on the beach. I can sit here for hours, just staring at the sea, watching ships sail by.” Harry says softly.

“I can see why. It’s lovely… so peaceful and quiet.” Louis replies, his head leaning against Harry’s shoulder. “I used to live near a port when I was younger. The hustle and bustle from the harbour was always there during the day, but at night it was almost quiet, as I remember it anyway.” Louis says thinking back of the time he lived in Southampton, how happy and innocent he’d been before… that summer.

“Are you alright?” Harry asks while he squeezes Louis’ shoulder. He must have zoned out for a bit.

 “Yeah, just something I remembered. I have some good memories and bad memories of the place. How about you? Where did you grow up?” he asks.

Harry sighs deeply. Louis looks up and sees a frown and a sad expression on Harry’s face.

”I wish I remembered. Surely you must have heard from Niall or Liam that I have somewhat of an odd past.” Louis nods.

“Yeah they said something like that, but no details.”

“I don’t remember anything about my younger years. I grew up in an orphanage in New York. It wasn’t too bad, I suppose. The staff was nice, some of the older boys were bullies and I was an easy target, the boy who didn’t know his last name or where he came from. I was way too soft to stand up against them.” Louis can see Harry drift away in thought, his face betraying painful memories.

He wraps his arms around him and kisses him softly on the cheek. Harry looks at him and smiles.

“I met a few older guys while I ran away from the orphanage for the umpteenth time. They were singing together a Capella and I was totally captivated by their harmonies. I talked to them afterwards. Think I was kind of over enthusiastic, we hit it off immediately. They invited me to join their family picnic and to cut the story short, their parents kind of adopted me, never officially since I had no birth certificate or other means of identification. They just took me in and so I spend the next years in Oklahoma. I’ll always be thankful for all they did for me, providing a home, giving me the opportunity to get an education, but being on my own for so long, I had trouble, still have, finding my place in a family. I’m in Oklahoma in winter, but in summer I travel and work away from Oklahoma, I ended up here one summer and I love it. So I keep coming back here every summer. And wow… I just basically told you the story of my life. I’ve never told anyone else.” Harry’s cheeks flush.

“Thank you for trusting your story to me. I can’t imagine what it must have been like, growing up without parents.” Louis tells him.

“Will you tell me yours?” Harry asks with pleading eyes. So Louis does. He tells him about the move to Doncaster and his life there, his love for football and writing stories, hiding and coming to terms with his sexuality and London.

“You’ve got quite a life story too.” Harry says as he they wrap their arms around each other, both buried in their own thoughts. 

“Wow, how many books are there?” Louis says as he enters Rosie’s bookshop and finds crates of books everywhere on the floor. Rosie smiles.

“I have no idea, but they seem more every year, the locals are very generous.” Prudence greets him and introduces him to several other helpers. By the end of the day they’ve got it all sorted.

“When’s the fair? I haven’t really seen the date.” Louis asks Prudence.

“The day after tomorrow! You should come! Oh....and we're going to the Beach Club tonight, you're coming? Bring Liam too!” Prudence invites him.  

“He’ll love it” Louis grins.

He drops by the pub. Niall and Harry are cleaning tables and chairs when he comes in.

“Hey mate, you're here to help us?” Niall shouts at him.

“No thanks.” Louis declines Niall’s offer. “I’ve been sorting books all day at Rosie’s. Just wanted to talk to Harry.” He smiles at the other boy. “Uhm, what time are you off?”

“Midnight.” Harry answers.

“Oh… uhm Prudence asked me and Liam to go to the Beach Club, was wondering if you might want to come.” he’s a bit disappointed, figured Harry might be working late, but he could always ask.

“Yeah, sorry. Have fun though!” And off he goes to the kitchen. Louis looks confused at Niall.

“Did I say something wrong?” Niall frowns and looks a bit concerned. “No… you didn’t. He gets like that sometimes, don’t worry about it. Enjoy your night out. Tell Pru, I’ll drop by the fair tomorrow to score some books for the winter, only time I get to read some.”

“Will do, will you tell Harry I said goodbye. I’ll be helping out at the fair tomorrow morning.” Niall nods.

“Sure mate.” 

It’s almost midnight. Liam and Louis are remotely drunk, Daniel might have had a little too much, since he joined his sister on the dancefloor, making Prudence grin devilishly.

“Poor Dan, let’s hope he won’t remember tonight tomorrow morning.” Liam chuckles. There’s a tap on Louis’ shoulder. It’s one of Dan’s friends, Louis only met tonight.

“You wanna dance?” he asks a bit shyly. Louis smiles

“Sure… Nigel, is it?” Nigel smiles back and nods. Louis is showing Nigel some dance moves, when he hears Liam’s voice approaching.

“Harry, you’re drunk! Louis is only dancing.” Louis looks up and sees Harry, barely able to stand, stumbling towards him and Nigel, followed by Liam who’s trying to stop him. Louis mumbles to Nigel

“Think I better check what’s going on, sorry.” and walks towards Liam and Harry. Harry’s got a dark look in his eyes, it unnerves Louis, and he decides to go for the happy boyfriend approach.

“Harry, you came!” and takes him by the arm, leading him towards the entrance, while shooting Liam a “let’s get out of here look.”

“You liked him? “ Harry stares Louis in the eye, his gaze a little less dark.

“Who? Nigel?” Louis asks cautiously.

“The guy you were dancing with… it was kind of intimate.” Harry’s look turns into a sad and painful expression. Louis stares at him in confusion.

“Harry, what are you talking about?”

“Don’t you want to be with me anymore? I could blow you, you know, right here.” Harry’s voice and expression look desperate and it scares Louis especially that last offer.

“Harry, of course I want to be with you. I was just dancing, that’s all. And how much I appreciate your offer, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Right at that moment Niall storms in.

“Thank God, you’re all right.” he pants, when he sees Harry. “Everything okay?” he eyes Louis.

“Yeah, fine. Let’s get him home.” he simply answers. In the meantime Liam, Prudence and Daniel joined them looking from Niall to Louis to Harry. Louis just shakes his head to Liam, he’ll understand not to ask questions. Harry is frozen to the spot looking at his boots.

“Come mate, let’s get you home.” Niall wraps his arm around Harry’s waist, Harry lets himself being guided outside, he can barely stand on his feet.

“Just how much did he drink?” Louis asks Niall.

“He hardly ever drinks; so a few glasses and he’s out.” Niall confesses in concern. “He shouldn’t be alone tonight, wish I could take him back to our place, but I don’t think he’ll manage to walk that far.” he adds.

 “Let’s get him to our cottage. I’ll look after him.” Louis says softly. “You wanna come with me and Liam, love?’ he asks Harry in a soft voice, while brushing his arm. Harry just stares and nods. They manage to get Harry to the cottage the three of them. Liam and Louis drag him upstairs after they’ve assured Niall, they will call him if there’s anything wrong. In Louis’ bedroom, they push him on the bed, Liam helps to take off his boots and socks.

“You’ll do the rest I assume? “ Louis nods.

“Just get a bucket and some water and we’ll be fine.” he adds. Louis manages to take off Harry’s shirt. The jeans are so tight that he has to struggle to get them off Harry’s legs.

“This is not how I imagined undressing you and spending our first night together.” He sighs when he looks at Harry who has fallen asleep. Louis turns off the light and carefully slips under the covers too. He looks at Harry who’s softly snoring, making him smile fondly, he places a soft kiss on Harry’s bare shoulder and then closes his eyes.  

A couple of hours later he’s woken by noises coming from the bathroom, Louis turns around, Liam had too much to drink apparently. Then he’s suddenly wide awake when he remembers last night. Harry is not in his bed...Louis gets up, thankful he didn’t drink too much last night and knocks on the bathroom door.

 “Harry… are you alright?” He can hear him mumble something, but can’t quite make out what he says.

“I’m sorry I can’t exactly hear what you’re saying. Can I come in?” He hears something that resembles “yes”. Harry’s leaning his head against the cool tiles on the wall. Louis sits down next to him.

“Hey...you okay?”

“I feel horrible...I’ll never drink again.” Harry’s voice is hoarse.

“I’ll get you some aspirin and a glass of water.” Louis gets up and finds painkillers in the cabinet, fills a glass with water and offers them to Harry.

“Thanks…” He gulps it down and sighs.

“Let’s get back to bed.” Louis pulls Harry up and walks with him to his bedroom. Louis jumps under the covers. Harry just stands there as if he’s not sure if he should get in or not. “Well… are you coming? It’s too early to get up, let’s get some more sleep.” Louis smiles encouragingly at Harry.

“Yeah, yeah… of course.” Okay… so they’re going to need to talk about this tomorrow, Louis thinks. Harry gets in a bit hesitant, making sure he stays on his side of the bed. Louis has to stop himself from chuckling, Harry is obviously pretty uncomfortable with the situation. Louis closes his eyes and pretends to fall asleep. He can feel Harry nervously shuffling under the covers, moving closer to him and feels an arm slowly falling over his stomach, he hears a small sigh next to him and finally Harry seems to relax a bit. 

When Louis wakes up again, the bed is empty and the sun is shining bright behind the white curtains. He hears Liam and Harry talking downstairs. Louis takes a quick shower and goes downstairs. He sits down at the table next to Harry and picks up toast.

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thanks.” They chat a bit and when they’ve put their plates away in the kitchen, Harry asks “Can we go to the rock and talk, please?” there’s a pleading look in his eyes.

“Yeah sure.” 

They walk in silence to the rock. “Look… I’m really sorry about last night.” Harry starts when they’re seated on the rock. “I shouldn’t have barged into the club like that.”

“Yeah, what was that all about?” Louis asks looking at Harry for an explanation.

“I was going to surprise you, but then I saw you dancing with that guy….I guess I got jealous.” Harry admits with a blush on his cheek. “Never felt anything like that before.” he stares down at his boots. Louis nudges him with his elbow.

“Silly boy… no need to be jealous. I was only dancing, didn’t care about the guy. I care about you though…” Louis confesses softly. Harry looks up in surprise, the blush deepening.

“Y-You do?”

“Yeah… I do, haven’t felt like this about anyone before.” Louis’ cheeks resemble the colour on Harry’s cheeks. “One thing troubles me though…” Louis continues in a soft voice. “Why did you offer me a blowjob there on the spot?” Harry’s face falls.

“Old habit…” he whispers. Louis’ mouth falls open his eyes wide.

“Wh- what did you say?”

“You heard me.” Harry looks away. Louis is lost for words. “I don’t expect you to understand… life wasn’t easy for me at the orphanage. Blowjobs solved a lot of trouble with the other, mostly older boys.” Louis’ eyes fill with tears.

“You mean… they had you blow them?” Louis whispers in disbelief. Harry just nods, still staring at the sea.

”It was either that or get beaten up… so yeah.”

“Bastards!” Louis swallows hard and wraps his arms around Harry.

“I would have beaten them for you.” Harry smiles a small smile.

“I think you would have too.” he says. “And that’s how far my experience with sex goes, giving blowjobs. Been trying to stay away from physical interaction since I got out of the place.” Harry confesses.

“That’s where the not dating thing comes from then?” Louis asks quietly.

“Yeah, felt safer to just not date.” Harry looks at him.

“So… we’re … not dating?” Louis asks carefully, hoping he’s wrong.

“I don’t know… I like to be with you, hold you, and kiss you.” Harry shrugs. Louis knows he's going to have to be careful with Harry.

“Well… we don’t have to call it dating, but I like that too ….. Only with you. Look Harry, I’m attracted to you… okay? I have had a bit more experience with sex, but I won’t do anything you don’t want to do. You just have to tell me. We only have another week left before I have to go back. I like cuddling and kissing, so it’s fine for me, alright? No pressure.”

“I’m attracted to you too. It’s not that I don’t want you, it’s just… scary.” Harry whispers.

“I know. Like I said it’s up to you, I promise I won’t push you and if you want to ...I’ll promise I’ll make it good for you.” He kisses Harry on his cheek.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little earlier than intended I post the second chapter, as I have a busy week ahead of me.


	3. Summer of 2012 - part 3

The main street, near the bookshop, is covered with market stalls. The fair has begun and there are a fair amount of people visiting the stalls. Louis volunteered to help set up the stalls and put books on display. He’s especially pleased with the children’s books stall. He just visited Prudence at her stall, she’s been selling quite some books since they opened the fair two hours ago. He’s on his way to the children’s books. The girl behind it, absentmindedly types on her mobile chewing gum and doesn’t look like she’s having fun selling children’s books. A small boy and his, probably little sister, are standing in front of the stall, the little girl is flipping through the pages of a storybook, pointing out pictures to her brother in excitement. He hears the boy asking “Ma’am how much is the book?”

“It’s $3, 00.” the girls answers bluntly.

The boy looks at the $ 1, 00 in his hand and says miserably “I only have a dollar.” The girl behind the stall just shrugs and goes back to typing on her mobile. The boy shakes his head sadly at the little girl.

“I’m sorry… we don’t have enough to buy the book.” The girl closes the book and puts it back without complaining. Louis has the feeling she’s used to the sentence. He quickly steps in.

“Well, hello there, sir and madam. How nice of you to visit our little book stall! “He exclaims. The boy looks at him with wide eyes, thinking, probably, Louis is a nutter. The girl just giggles.

“Did you find a nice book?” The girl looks at him curiously and then points to the storybook she just put back. “Ah, that’s a great book. Do you want to hear a story?” he asks her. She nods. Louis grabs a few crates, two for himself which he piles up and places one crate on each side of him on the ground. He jumps on the crates with the book and sits down. “If you’ll just join me...” he points to the crates on each side of him. The boy still looks at him suspiciously, the girl keeps giggling, but they both sit down. Louis picks out a short story to read. He coughs a fake cough and starts reading. Soon both children are completely under the spell of storyteller Louis, who’s making all kinds of faces and gestures with hands adding to the story. When he finishes the story there are lots of children standing around him watching him in awe, parents looking amused…? Ah... so he made quite a display of himself. “It’s a great book, isn’t it?” he asks the little girl next to him. She nods in agreement. “Don’t you agree?” he asks her brother. He nods too, looking sad.

“I wanted to buy it for her, but I only have a dollar.” he whispers miserably in Louis’ ear.

“Ah I see, but you know... it’s not a fixed price. I’m sure we can do something about that.” He whispers back.

“Can you hold the book for me?” he asks the girl. She carefully takes the book from Louis’ hands. He jumps off the crate and walks around the stall, being side-eyed by the girl behind the stall, he's not taking his eyes off the little girl who strokes the book and flips through a few pages, sighing. He grabs a bag and walks back to the children.

“It’s $ 1, 00 please.” he says as he takes the book from the little girl’s hands and puts it in the bag. The boy jumps up, his eyes wide and mouth open, when he quickly hands Louis the dollar bill as if he’s afraid Louis might change his mind. Louis smiles reassuringly at him when he offers the boy the bag in exchange for the banknote.

“Have fun reading it to your sister.” he says softly.

“Thank you, sir.” the boy whispers back gratefully. “Suzie… we’ve got the book !” he proudly hands the book to his sister who looks at him in wonder and grabs her brother’s hand jumping up and down in excitement. They walk away together, Louis can hear them laughing and he smiles. The little girl glances over his shoulder and gives him a small wave with her tiny hand. He sighs, feeling happy.

He feels someone pulling on his shirt. A little boy wants his attention. “Can you read something from this book?” he asks a bit shyly as he hands Louis a book about animals in a zoo. Louis smiles, he’s found himself a great occupation for the rest of the day.

“Of course, come sit next to me.” He jumps back on the crates in the middle and starts another story. The girl behind the stall still looks at him suspiciously, but finds herself too busy now to type on her mobile… business is booming thanks to Louis’ unusual way of selling books. 

By the end of the day, Louis is tired and his throat is soar. He steps down from the crates and only then he sees three pair of eyes grinning at him.

“Mate, you were great!” Niall claps him on the shoulder.

“Yeah… you were, truly amazing.” Liam hugs him. He turns round to face Harry.

“Hi” he says. Harry wraps his arms around his neck. "I’m so proud of you, you really made these kids’ day. You were amazing!” And then he kisses Louis on his lips. Louis answers with a kiss and leans in, wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist.

“I had a great day too, I loved it.”

Niall invites them over for dinner at the pub.

“Cheers to what has to be the most successful sale at the children’s book stall ever!” Niall raises his beer glass. The others chime in and Louis blushes. Liam and Louis leave a few hours later after Louis and Harry have been saying goodbye for at least a quarter of an hour, Liam complains.

 

The next three days the friends just lounge and swim as it is too hot to undertake anything. On Wednesday night Liam receives a text from Daniel “Bonfire tonight at the beach!”

“Ah… that’s cool, Louis. We’re invited to the beach tonight….bonfire. Guess we better go shopping for some booze!” Louis lifts his aviators a little and looks at Liam from his spot on the sunbed.

“Sounds like a great plan… let’s go!” 

“Hey guys come on over here!” Daniel shouts. Liam, who’s carrying a box full of bottles varying from vodka to whisky and cheap wine, walks over to Daniel. Louis’ arms are covered with hoodies and blankets.

“Hey Niall, good to see you! You brought a guitar?” Louis drops down next to him.

‘Yep!” Niall pops the p. “Been playing ever since I was little!”

“Cool!” Louis throws the blankets and hoodies behind him and leans back. “Harry not coming?” he asks. Niall smiles at him.

 “Of course he’s coming. He doesn’t want to miss spending a night with you! His shift is over in an hour.” Louis glows at Niall’s words.

Before they know it’s two hours later, quite a few bottles are empty and they are louder than usual, singing along to whatever Niall plays.

“Hi” he hears a voice from behind him. Louis looks over his shoulder and smiles happily.

“Harry, come sit next to me!” Harry complies and soon they’re both singing along Niall’s tunes. One by one people leave, fall asleep, and make out. Niall has put his guitar back in its case and is smooching with a black-haired girl sitting next to him. Harry’s head is in Louis’ lap, Louis stroking his hair. Harry hums.

“You like this, don’t you? Like a purring kitty.” Louis giggles. Harry opens his eyes and smiles, showing off his dimples.

“Mm” is the answer. Louis bends his head so he can kiss the purring kitty. Harry reaches out to pull Louis down next to him. They lay face to face. “It’s nice out here, I could stay here all night with you.” Harry confides in him.

“Well, I don’t see why we can’t. Let’s just stay here. I’ve got a few blankets and we can keep the fire going.” Louis offers. Niall and Liam are the last ones to leave. “We’re staying here tonight.” Louis simply states when the boys look at them.

“Have fun!” Niall grins, giving Liam an all knowing look. They stare at the fire for a while when everyone’s gone.

“Can’t believe you’re leaving in a few days…” Harry says. He looks at Louis with a sad face.

“Hey, don’t be sad. We still have three days together, well… almost.” Louis cups Harry’s cheeks and kisses him. “I don’t want to think about it, to be honest. Let’s make the most of the time we have left.” And he kisses Harry again. Harry’s hand pulls him closer and he kisses Louis back.

After a couple of minutes they break away from each other, both trying to catch their breaths. Harry nestles his head in the crook of Louis’ neck and sighs.

“Lou?” he asks. “What are we going to do…? I mean. Will we just say goodbye and that’s it?” He sounds vulnerable, Louis kisses his head. If he’s honest to himself and Harry, that’s exactly what it probably should be. Goodbye to a summer love and on with their daily lives, except for … that’s not what his heart says.

“I… I honestly don’t know, Harry. I’d like to keep in touch, but we both know me living all the way in England and you here… it won’t work. It’s not as if one of us can just quickly pay a visit to the other, as much as I would love that, but I don’t want to lose you either. There’s Skype, Facebook, mobile phones… we could try... if you want?” Harry doesn’t answer. Louis feels something wet in his neck. “Harry?” he asks carefully. No answer, all he hears are a few sobs. “Oh love, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He wraps his arms tightly around the boy and kisses his head. After a few minutes the sobs stop and Harry wipes the tears away with his hand.

“I’m sorry... can’t even remember the last time I cried.” he apologizes.

“It’s fine, really. I know it’s a shit situation, I hate it as much as you do.” Louis admits, his eyes not entirely dry either. Harry holds him close and they lie like that until their eyes become heavy. Louis pulls the blanket over the both of them and watches the fire die out and then falls asleep. 

It’s very early when Louis wakes up. Harry is still asleep all cuddled up to Louis’ side. He looks so peaceful and innocent, Louis has to swallow a lump in his throat and tears are threatening to fall from his eyes. He hates himself for having to leave this beautiful, sweet boy, who’s had such a troubled life. He wishes he could stay and be here for him like a proper boyfriend. Boyfriend…. Oh Harry, he thinks, what did we do? Who will take care of you after I leave? He feels shit. He should have been wiser. He’s older, he’s had flings. Harry… Harry just discovered what it can be like with another guy who cares about him. How did they get so close in just two weeks? He feels Harry stir next to him, but he doesn’t wake up. Louis closes his eyes again, but doesn’t fall asleep.

“Hey beautiful.” he smiles when Harry wakes up. Harry looks a bit confused, but then he suddenly seems to remember, because he smiles a sleepy smile.

“Hi, good morning. Did you sleep well?” he asks while he pulls the blanket a bit further over his shoulder.

“I slept well, thanks. You slept like a baby.” Louis teases him.

“Have you been watching me?” Harry looks a bit uncertain as if he feels uncomfortable.

“Just for a little while. You looked so beautiful and peaceful in your sleep, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you.” he admits with a blush. Harry is blushing too. “I think we should get up and see if Liam can fix us some breakfast.” Louis sits up.

“Louis?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for last night, for being honest with me, I appreciate it.”

“Yeah sure, love.” Louis gets up and Harry grabs the hand Louis offers him to pull him up. They gather their things and walk silently to the cottage. 

After breakfast Harry has to leave. He’s got an afternoon shift from noon until 5 pm.

“Will you come to my place tonight? I’ll cook dinner.” Harry bites his lip when he asks Louis.

“I’d love that, but Uhm… where exactly do you live?”

“Oh yeah, the house near the pier, the blue one? It’s from Niall’s parents, they let me stay there each summer.”

“Oh, yeah I remember you walking to the house when we first met.”   

Louis walks up the steps of the blue house wearing his turquoise pants and white T-shirt and white Vans. He brought Harry some flowers, being a true romantic at heart. He knocks on the door... twice. The door flies open and a smiling Harry with flustered cheeks appears in the doorway.

“Hi!” he says excited.

“Hi” Louis is taken aback by Harry’s appearance. He’s wearing dark blue jeans and a baby blue button down shirt, with most of its buttons undone. His curls are unruly as usual. He’s just stunning and Louis’ mind develops some inappropriate thoughts which he quickly stops, feeling himself already getting semi-hard in his pants.

“Uhm I brought you some flowers.” Harry smiles in surprise.

“For me?” Louis nods shyly. Harry takes the bunch from Louis and pulls him in.

“They’re lovely, thank you. No one ever brought me flowers before.” Harry really is happy with Louis’ gesture. Louis smiles in relief, he was a bit concerned Harry might think flowers were a bit corny.

“It’s quite a big house.”  

“Yeah, come through here.” Harry invites him. He’s being lead into a dining room, a nicely set table for two with candles.

“Oh wow...that’s beautiful.” Louis compliments Harry.

“You like it?”

“Love it” Louis confirms. Harry beams.

“Have a seat. I’ll just put your flowers in a vase and then I’ll serve dinner.” Louis sits down, he’s kind of nervous. He’s never done this kind of dating before. It feels very romantic… very Harry, but also like serious dating, boyfriend stuff and although they’ve talked about it, Louis is not sure if he can handle this. He’s leaving in two days and he feels himself falling in love with this curly boy. It can never end well. 

Harry serves them a fish dish, with mashed potatoes and a salad. He even has a bottle of white wine for them to go with the dish.

“I’m impressed! This tastes delicious. Where did you learn to cook like this?” Harry blushes at the compliments.

“Uhm Niall’s mum has some great recipes, I learn a lot from her.” Harry tells him a bit shyly.

“I envy you… Liam’s tried to teach me, but I’m hopeless in the kitchen, so he does all the cooking at home.” Louis admits his biggest flaw to Harry. When they’re finished Harry puts the plates away in the kitchen. After a while Louis gets a little concerned, Harry hasn’t come back from the kitchen, so he decides to check on him. He finds him sitting at the kitchen table, he looks nervous.

“Harry? Are you alright?” Harry groans in despair.

“I’m hopeless. I wanted it to be a nice romantic evening for the two of us and here I am … shaking like a leaf, because I have no idea what’s expected of me or what I should do!” He sounds a bit angry with himself. Oh…

“Nothing is expected of you, love. Just relax… remember you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” Louis reassures him as he stands next to Harry.

“That’s exactly the point: I do want everything with you, but I don’t know… how. This doesn’t make sense… oh I don’t know.”

Louis hears the frustration in Harry’s voice. So … Harry wants him. He puts a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“How about you let me initiate… just tell me if you want to stop, okay?” he says softly. Harry looks up, visibly relieved and nods a yes. “Come on, let’s go back to the room.” He takes Harry by the hand and leads him to the living room that is connected to the dining room. He slowly pushes Harry on the couch and straddles him, cupping Harry’s cheeks, his lips brushing the other ‘boy’s lips. He teases a bit, nibbling on Harry’s lower lip before he brushes his lips over Harry’s cheek until he’s reached his jaw, he kisses slowly a trail down to his neck and sucks on the sensitive skin there, while his hands make their way down to his chest, sneaking one hand just under the fabric where the shirt is open. He hears Harry moan a little. He keeps kissing and sucking Harry’s neck, while his other hand is unbuttoning the rest of Harry’s shirt until it falls open. He looks up as he pushes the shirt off Harry’s shoulders, Harry's eyes are closed. Louis removes the shirt and lets his hands roam over Harry’s chest, leans in and kisses him on the mouth, a bit more insistent this time and Harry opens his mouth letting Louis explore first, but soon their tongues are twirling and licking in each other’s mouth until they’re hot and wet kisses, Louis feels Harry tugging on his shirt and in one swift move he pulls the shirt over his head and throws it on the floor.

Harry’s licking his lips at the sight in front of him and dives forward to kiss Louis’ chest. Louis lets his head fall back when Harry’s tongue has found his nipple and softly bites. He moans, he feels Harry’s arousal growing beneath him, causing himself to grow even harder in his own pants. He moves his hips in small circles, needing to feel more friction. Harry gasps and moans, when his hands move slowly from Harry’s chest to the waistband of his jeans.

“Harry, is this okay?” he needs to know.

“Oh yeah… God yes, can we get out of these jeans please?” Harry pants. Louis quickly gets off Harry’s lap and helps Harry out of his jeans and boots until he’s only sitting in his briefs. His cock peeking out.

“God, you’re gorgeous.” Louis groans and quickly unbuttons his own jeans and shoes. His boxers are wet with precum. He can see Harry staring at his boxers. He kneels down between Harry’s legs. He kisses him on the mouth.

“What do you want?” He asks between kisses. Harry’s just moaning.

“Can I blow you?”

“Yes... please…” Harry breathes out. Louis softly takes off Harry’s briefs and strokes him a few times slowly until Harry whispers “Please...Louis…” Louis licks his lips and takes the tip in his mouth, making Harry gasp. He knows… this is all new to Harry, so he’s going to take his time to make this as good as he knows how for him. He softly sucks and licks the tip for a bit. ‘Oh Lou… this feels so good…” Harry moans. Little by little he takes more of Harry’s cock in his mouth and sucks and licks some more before he takes him down completely, almost making him gag when Harry involuntarily grinds his hips and fucks his mouth. “Sorry… sorry.” Louis starts bobbing his head up and down, his hand wrapping around the part of Harry his mouth can’t cover. Harry is fisting the pillows, trying to keep his hips from moving up and down. His head falls back on the couch, he’s breathing heavily. Louis finds it hot seeing Harry like this responding to Louis’ mouth. Harry moans and pants and comes with a groan down Louis’ throat. Louis keeps sucking and swallowing until Harry stills. Then he lets go of the softening cock, stroking Harry’s hips. Harry opens his eyes and stares at him with glancing eyes. “That was amazing.” he breaths. Louis smiles.

“Good?”

“Yeah… great.” He takes Louis’ head in his hands.

“Thank you…” He kisses him on the lips.

“Do you want me to blow you?” He asks. Louis shakes his head.

“No… I’m fine honestly, it was sweet of you to ask though.” And it’s true, Louis is fine, of course he wouldn’t have mind having the favour returned, but his aim was to please Harry, giving him a nice and pleasant memory of his first received blowjob.

“Louis?”

“Yeah?”  

“Will you stay with me tonight?” Louis swallows and contemplates quickly before he answers

“Yeah… if you want me to… I’ll stay.” Harry pulls him up on the couch and kisses him. 

They stay on the couch, Harry’s put his briefs back on and he’s pulled a blanket over the both of them while they're watching Friends on a DVD together, Harry with his head in Louis’ lap.

That night they share Harry’s king-size bed, both in their underwear. Harry’s become a bit more confident as he cuddles up to Louis’ side. Louis feels the warmth of Harry’s body pressing against his’ and an arm snake around his waist. It feels nice, just lying there with this beautiful boy beside him, he sighs. Harry has other plans though. He moves his hand over Louis’ stomach, caressing his sides and moving down to his boxers, slowly pulling the waistband down. Louis holds his breath, lifts his hips a little so Harry can pull the boxers over his bum. Louis kicks them off. Harry removes his own briefs and turns back to Louis. Louis has trouble breathing even. He doesn’t want to ask, as Harry seems to know what he wants. He goes back to caressing Louis’ stomach and moving down again until he hesitantly wraps his hand around Louis’ semi-hard member. Louis gasps when he feels the hand moving up and down, it only takes a few tugs before he’s fully hard. He wants to touch Harry too, but he needs to know if it’s okay.

“Can I touch you?” he asks breathily.

“Yeah.” Harry answers. Louis lets his hand trail down over Harry’s stomach to his cock and strokes him until he’s fully hard too. Louis turns to face Harry, so he can kiss him. For a while there are only wet kissing sounds, until they both pant and moan and soon Louis comes, screaming Harry’s name followed by a deep groan from Harry who comes shortly after.

“Fuck…that was good” Louis pants.

“I know” Harry growls next to him trying catch his own breath. “I better get us cleaned up.” Harry says after they’ve come down from their high. He climbs out of bed and walks to the bathroom. A little later he comes back with a warm wet cloth and starts cleaning Louis’ stomach.

“Cuddle?” Louis asks when Harry lies next to him again. Harry smiles and Louis wraps his arm around the boy and together they lay still until their eyes grow heavy and they fall asleep.

Louis wakes up to the smell of fresh pancakes. The spot next to him is empty, he smiles. He could get used to waking up like this. He makes his way downstairs and finds Harry in the kitchen.

“Good morning!” Harry greets him with a huge smile on his face.

“Want some breakfast?” Louis grins.  

“You’re cheerful and yes, I’d love some. Is there any tea?” Harry points his head to the teapot and Louis kisses him.

“You’re an angel!” he says content. Harry beams.

“Are you working today?” Louis asks while enjoying Harry’s homemade pancakes. Harry pouts.

“Yeah, I start at noon. Wish we could be together today.” Louis sighs.

“I too… well, let’s not waste our precious time.” He winks at Harry who’s blushing deeply.

They kiss and make out, until it is time for them to shower and leave. Louis walks Harry to the pub, his small hand in Harry’s big hand. They pass by the bookshop where Rosie waves at them. In front of the pub Louis kisses Harry once again until Niall whistles and they break apart both smiling like idiots.

Niall just remarks with a wink “Ugh… gross!” and smacks Harry’s bum.

“Well, I’ve got to go. Give me your number and I’ll text you when I’m off.” Harry holds out his hand with the mobile so Louis can type his number and save it.

“Can I have yours?” He picks his phone from his pocket and hands it to Harry.

“Here you go.” Another kiss and then Harry goes in. Louis walks back happily to the cottage, to find Liam gone. He watches the beach from the porch and finds him with Daniel and his friends. He changes quickly into a wetsuit and almost runs to the boys.

“Well, well …. Look who we have here? Harry finally let you go?” Liam smirks, Daniel and his friends are looking at him in amusement. Louis blushes. “I’m just teasing, you look like you had a great time. “ Liam nudges him with his elbow.

“Yeah, we had.” He’s smiling happily at Liam. 

At eight he gets a text from Harry.

 

_Come meet me at the rock_

 

“Liam… I’m going to meet Harry...don’t know if I’ll be back tonight. I’ve got all my things packed.” He informs Liam who reads a book curled up on a chair on the porch.

“Yeah, sure mate. Don’t forget we’re leaving at 10 am. Have a good night.” Liam looks up, a smile on his lips. Louis nods and then leaves.

Harry’s already there sitting on a blanket. He looks beautiful in the twilight, his curls waving in the soft sea breeze, arms wrapped around his knees while he stares at the sea. Again… there’s something familiar about the way he sits there.

Their last night together….Oh how much he wants to stay, never leaving Harry. It’s almost too much, he feels an unfamiliar pain in his chest and a terrible sadness coming over him. Louis takes a deep breath, composing himself. He doesn’t want Harry to see him like this. “Hi” he says cheerfully, at least he hopes it sounds cheerful, when he’s close enough for Harry to hear him. Harry turns his head and in the light of the moon it is as if Harry is glowing. Louis stands in front of him and pulls Harry’s head down for a kiss.

 “Hi” Harry says when Louis breaks the kiss and climbs up the rock next to Harry. “Our last night…” Harry’s voice sounds tight.

“Yeah…” Louis replies weakly. And then Harry’s lips are on his’, frantic, searching, sucking, claiming Louis’ mouth desperately and the little resistance Louis had is completely gone when he succumbs to the desperate kisses. Their hands roaming over each other’s bodies. Harry pulls back all of a sudden.

 ‘W...what’s wrong?” Louis asks, still panting. “I want you.” Harry says. His pupils are dilated, eyes full with lust.

“What do you mean?” Louis asks cautiously, not wanting to make the mistake of misunderstanding.

“I want you to be my first…. fuck me, Louis, please.” Louis groans softly.

“Harry, are you sure? I mean…. really sure?”

“Very sure…. I brought… uhm… supplies.” Harry admits shyly. Louis appreciates the way Harry’s thought it through.

“Yeah… okay…. here? I mean, we could get caught. “

“Yeah, here at the rock.” Harry confirms.

“Just let me know if you want to stop… promise?” Louis whispers in Harry’s ear. Harry’s reply is a kiss on Louis’ lips.

The way Harry is responding to Louis’ touches as he’s prepping him, when they’re both naked on the blanket, the moon shining on them is doing things to Louis. Harry is beautiful under him, pale skin, dark curls framing his face. His eyes staring hungrily at Louis.

“Are you ready for me?” Louis asks softly.

“Yes, please make love to me.”

Louis swallows. “I’ll make love to you.” Because that’s exactly how it feels…. making love. He’s entering Harry slowly, stills so Harry can adjust before he moves in further.

“You can move now.” Harry moans. Louis pushes his hips forward, every time a bit further and back until he’s found a rhythm. Harry moans and whimpers and yelps when Louis hits his prostate. “Feels good, doesn’t It.” he whispers when he pushes against it again. Harry moans and licks his lips. Louis pushes in a few more times faster and harder until he pushes Harry over the edge. He screams Louis’ name when he comes. Another few thrusts and Louis comes hard, collapsing on top of Harry. They’re both panting and breathing heavily. After a few minutes Louis pulls out and removes the condom. He lies down next to Harry. “I’m glad you were my first. Thank you.” Harry says softly. I wish I was your last too, Louis thinks.

 “I should thank you for wanting me to be your first, it’s kind of a big thing.” He pushes a stray curl behind Harry’s ear.

“Don’t want you to go.” Harry simply says.

“I don’t want to go, but …. You know I can’t stay.” Louis answers with a lump in his throat. He feels two arms around his neck. They hold each other tight for a while before they dress and pick up another blanket, then lie down on the beach beneath the rock. Spending their last night together under the moonlit sky. 

It’s early morning, the sun rising and shining on both boys when they wake.

“Hi… what time is it?” Louis picks up his phone.

“It’s 7 am, let’s go back to the cottage.”  They gather the blankets and walk to the cottage. Liam’s already up and making breakfast. He picks another two plates and fills them with eggs and bacon. He doesn’t talk, neither do Harry and Louis. They’re all dreading the nearing goodbye. 

The luggage is in the trunk. Liam’s in the car. Louis and Harry are standing on the porch.

“So… I guess this is it.” Louis’ voice is hoarse. Harry swallows, a solemn tear falls from his eye. Louis wipes it gently away. “Don’t cry, love. We’ll text and Skype.” He almost chokes on his own tears. They both know it’s not the same and that it’s very unlikely they will ever see each other again. Harry throws himself at Louis, wrapping his arms around Louis’ neck and kisses him and before Louis can react, Harry jumps off the porch and runs away without glancing over his shoulder. Louis watches the boy run out of his life.

“Goodbye …. My love” he whispers with tears in his eyes.


	4. Fall of 2015 - part 1

“Liam, are you home?” Louis yells after he closes the door of their apartment, he kicks his Vans off, throws his jacket on a hook and walks quickly to the living room.

“Yeah, mate I’m here.” Liam answers from his spot on the chair in the corner of the room facing the TV screen.

“They’re gonna do it…. they’ll publish my book!” Louis throws himself at Liam who catches him in his lap and hugs him.

“Oh Lou, that’s fantastic news, I’m so happy for you. Your dream come true.” Liam exclaims, his arms still around his friend. Louis’ arms around his neck.

“I know, I can’t believe it’s happening. Just imagine children reading about Captain Brightheart’s adventures… my book!” Louis sighs happily leaning his head against his friend’s shoulder.

“You deserve it Lou, you spent so much time writing and editing the story and you know I enjoyed reading it. Children will love it, it’s adventurous and funny.” Liam tells him. Louis jumps up.

“Let’s go out and celebrate: my treat!”

“Ehm… I kind of invited Sophia over. She’ll be here in half an hour.” Liam apologizes.

“Bring her along… you know I like her. Let’s have dinner, the three of us at Giovanni’s.” Louis smiles at Liam.

“You sure?” Liam asks hesitantly.

“Yes Liam, don’t be silly. It’s fine, let’s just celebrate.” Louis assures him.

Sophia is just as happy for him as Liam is. They enjoy their dinner at the tiny restaurant near the apartment. Liam and Sophia have been dating for two years now, they’re very happy. Sophia is an intelligent and funny girl, pretty too. Louis has been tagging along on their nights out several times the past two years and can see how happy Liam is with his girlfriend. He sighs.

“What’s up mate?” Liam asks.

“Nothing really, just thinking how happy the two of you are and… well, I’m kind of jealous, I guess.” he admits a bit shyly. Sophia pats his hand that is resting on the table.

“You’ll find someone Louis, you’re nice, funny and handsome. You just haven’t found him yet.” she comforts him.

“Yeah…. you’re probably right. So far no luck.” Louis says softly, Liam looks at him with concern in his eyes. He’s been like this with Louis after their holiday in America. Louis had been heartbroken for a very long time. He’s been on dates the past year, but none of them even came close to the boy with the wide green eyes and the curly locks… Harry. Louis doesn’t think he’ll ever get over him, which is a bit strange considering he only had two weeks with him, but everything felt right with Harry. After the awkward start of their summer fling, they quickly became inseparable, spending all of Harry’s spare time together. Louis felt even guilty not spending much time with Liam. Louis had fallen hard and deep for the boy. And even now… after so many years it still hurts. Louis never saw him again. Harry living across the ocean and Louis in London, they tried to keep in touch as they promised each other, but in the end it turned out to be too hard on both of them. All of their online encounters on Skype resulting in tears on both sides. Harry one night told him they should stop contacting each other, since it only lead to both of them being miserable and that there was no way they could change their situation. Louis had been so upset he’d logged off and that was the end of it. He’d been miserable and sad for weeks, crying himself to sleep every night, lost his appetite and only got out of bed when really necessary. Liam turned out to be his best friend ever, leaving him alone for a while, but being there for him when he needed him. Liam was also the one to get him back on track, making sure he made it through uni, doing things together like swimming, bowling with uni friends, go out to parties. After a few months Louis was feeling a bit alive again. Still… there never goes a day by he doesn’t think of Harry. What does he look like now, what is he doing, where does he live now, did he ever go into photography and the one thing he wants to know most of all : is he happy, does he have someone who makes him happy ? Part of him hopes he is, he deserves to be happy, part of him doesn’t, because Louis wants to be the one to make him happy.

It’s August when Louis’ book “Captain Brighthead on adventure” is published in the UK by Cowell Publishing. It’s also the company where Louis works as an editor. Simon Cowell, owner of Cowell Publishing, hands Louis his first book at a private party organised by his co-workers in the staff room. His mum and sisters came to celebrate with them and of course Liam and Sophia. He’s overwhelmed by all the attention he’s getting.

“I’m so proud of you. Your very first book.” his mum whispers in his ear when she hugs him. Of course his sisters each receive a copy of their brother’s book and he proudly signs them with a personal note, like a true professional writer.

In the next couple of weeks everyone is keeping an eye on the sales. Simon, of course, on a business level, it’s after all a book published by his company, but he’s proud of his youngest editor too although he’ll never show it. Miranda, Cowell’s secretary brings him his fan mail. Louis keeps those until his lunch break. He loves reading the letters from children, excited about his book.

August and September go by, Louis’ book is doing very well. He’s got a full schedule from October until the end of November, book signings at several bookshops across the country, a book festival in November reading a chapter from his book on a small stage. Miranda is handling the appointments for him at Simon’s request, so he’s able to do his job as an editor as well as promoting his book.

It’s on a rainy night in early October when Liam and Louis are on the couch watching TV; Liam’s zapping from one channel to another until he stops at BBC One. Liam goes to the kitchen to grab them a soda and a snack, while Louis checks his mobile for messages. He hears “a new series of Missing, tonight the case of a young boy who went missing in the summer of 2000.” Louis looks up when Liam comes back with the snack and drinks. He’s about to pick up his drink when his eye catches the photo of a young boy shown on the screen. He freezes.

“Oh my God….” he whispers.

‘Are you alright?” Louis shakes his head and motions for Liam not to speak and points to the screen. Liam follows his friend’s instructions and watches the programme. “The boy, Harry Styles, was six years old when he went missing without a trace. “ Next is a lady in her fifties, introduced as the missing boy’s aunt, who’s last seen the boy. Apparently she’d been travelling with him from Manchester to London after the boy’s grandmother died to look after the boy until his parents and sister came back from Oman, where his father worked for BP. The boy went missing from Victoria Station, disappeared from sight in the chaos that is one of Britain’s biggest stations. No one’s ever seen him again. Liam sees Louis fighting tears, but is afraid to ask, so he tries to focus on the programme again. Next is a young woman, his sister Gemma, showing the house where they lived and the boy’s room that has been kept like it was since he last slept there? At the end of the programme there’s the usual if you know, seen etc. call BBC at… “Louis picks up a pen and writes the number on a corner of the front page of the newspaper lying on the table. Then he turns off the TV. Liam looks at him expectantly, still not daring to ask questions. Whatever it is, it had a huge impact on Louis. Louis takes a deep shakenly breathe and then turns to Liam.

“I knew him.” is all he says. Liam raises his eyebrow.

“Take your time, Louis. I can see the programme has unsettled you deeply. Just take a few deep breaths, mate and then tell me what you want to tell.” And Louis does need to take deep breaths.

“I knew him, but I didn’t know he was missing, Liam! He said his name was Harold and that he lived with his grandmother. This was when I still lived in Southampton. Oh my God, if only we’d known, we would have told our parents!” Tears are rolling over his cheeks now as he recalls the events of that summer of 2000. He can’t seem to stop them and soon he feels two strong arms around him, pulling him into a firm chest and then he totally breaks down for what seems like hours to him. The sweet young boy from the woods had been a missing boy and they hadn’t known. What if they were right? What if he really went on that great adventure, could they have stopped him?

Louis’ mobile rings and keeps ringing. Liam picks up and says softly “It’s Stan… you want me to answer him?” Louis nods a yes, he’s unable to speak.

Louis hears Liam mumbling something and ends the call with “he’ll call you when feels up to it.”  They just sit together for a while.

 “Stan called about the programme?” Louis finally manages to ask.

“Yes, wanted to know if you’d seen it.” Liam says quietly.

“Did he say anything about the other boys?” Liam shakes his head in denial. He still doesn’t quite understand Louis’ story exactly. All he knows is that his friend is pretty upset.

“Stan? Hi, it’s me.” Louis is nervous, he hasn’t spoken to his childhood friend in a long time. They kept in touch through the years. “You talked to Luke and Oliver?” he asks.

“No, haven’t seen or spoken to them in years.” Stan replies.

“What are we going to do? I mean, I feel we need to contact the family, we saw the boy after he vanished.” Louis speaks nervously.

“You should, if you still remember things from then. I don’t remember much, just recognized the face of the boy on TV. He admired you, I remember that, looked up to you.” Stan says in a quiet tone. Louis takes a deep breath.

“I’m on my own then.” he states.

“I suppose so, can’t help you or the family much. It’s been too long ago.” Stan sounds dismissive, as if he felt it to be his duty to call Louis, but doesn’t want anything to do with it.

“I understand. Thanks for calling.” He presses the button to end the call. Right, no support from his former friends. If he’s going to call, he’s on his own.

That night he keeps tossing and turning, it’s almost morning when he finally falls asleep. He’s texted the office in the middle of the night telling them he didn’t feel well and would stay at home. It’s 10 am when he wakes, feeling exhausted. He steps out of bed to take a shower. His reflection in the mirror tells him he looks terrible. After he’s put some sweatpants on and a band T-shirt, he shuffles to the kitchen. There’s a note on the table. Left you some breakfast in the fridge. I’ll be home early today. “Sweet Liam.” Louis smiles. While eating breakfast he scrolls through his messages.

Liam texted “Figured you’d take the day off. Hope you’re okay.” He texts him back. There’s another one from Stan. “Sorry Lou, don’t be mad, please.” He sighs and texts back “I’m not, just dread contacting that family all on my own.” Right, call the BBC and get it over with.

The call to the BBC isn’t so bad. They will give his details to the family and they will contact him. When he finishes the call he sits down on the couch, taking a deep breath. All he can do now is wait for someone to call him. He stays in the apartment for another half an hour and then goes outside for a walk through the park. Staying indoors waiting for that call makes him even more nervous. It’s a nice October day, the beautiful autumn colours of leaves on trees filter the sun and make the park glow. He sits on a bench with his eyes closed, when he feels his phone buzz in the pocket of his green hoodie. Absentminded he picks up with a “hello?”

 “Hello, this is Gemma Styles, is this Louis Tomlinson?” a girl’s voice answers. He sits up straight and stutters.

“Yes...y-yes, I’m Louis.”

 “I got your number from BBC’s Missing. You had some info about my brother?” The girl inquires hesitantly.

“Yes, I have. Although, it’s nothing recent, I’m afraid. I met him when I was eight and he was six, think it was right after he disappeared from the station?” He tells her quickly. She asks him to come over to meet her in a place called Holmes Chapel, not far from Manchester. He writes down the address on an old grocery list he finds in his pocket.

“I’m going to meet the boy’s sister this Saturday in a village near Manchester.” Louis blurts out when Liam steps into the living room. He quickly tells about his call to the BBC and the call from the boy’s sister.

“You want me to come along?” Liam looks at him. Louis shakes his head.

“No, I’ve got to do this alone. Thanks for offering though.”

It’s windy and raining, Louis walks as quickly as he can from the bus stop to the address in his hand. The bus driver gave him directions, told him it was a few minutes’ walk. It’s a nice village, even in weather conditions like this. He holds in front of a nice family house. He takes a deep breath as he steps up to the front door and rings the bell. Footsteps approach the door and it is swung open by a blonde girl with dark eyes.

“Louis?” she asks.

“Yes, that’s me.” he replies. He holds his hand out to shake hers, she pulls him in by the hand.

“Come in, it’s awful outside.” she smiles.

“Typical British weather.” Louis smiles back.

“I’m Gemma, we spoke on the phone. Let me get you a towel to dry off. Give me your jacket, I’ll hang it in the kitchen to dry.” Louis is a bit overwhelmed by the girl’s determination, kind of girl that likes to be in control. He hands over his jacket. She motions him to follow her to the kitchen. Gemma throws him a towel. “Take a seat. I’ll put the kettle on, bet you’d love some good old English tea.” she grins at him. Okay, so his hair is probably a mess now he’s rubbed the towel over his usually well-kept quiff.

“I’d love some tea and I know I must look dreadful now.” he apologizes. She looks over her shoulder.

 “Nah, you’re okay.” They sit down at the kitchen table. Louis feels a bit nervous, not knowing if he should come straight to the point or just chit-chat. Gemma must sense his nervousness as she starts talking. “I’m glad you could come. You’re the only one to react after the broadcast. I’d given up all hope, to be honest.” Louis nods.

“It took me some courage to call the BBC, but I felt like I owed you and your family at least the little info I had. Like I said, I was only eight when I met your little brother.”

“I’d like to hear your story… if you’re ready.” she says softly. Louis takes a deep breath.

**_Summer of 2000_ ** **_… Louis_ ** **_’ story_ **

****

_“Let_ _’s build a dam!_ _” the blue-eyed boy exclaims. He is playing with his friends in the shallow stream in the woods near their home. It_ _’s a warm summer day, the sun is shining bright, clear skies, bees humming and birds chirping high up in the trees. The four friends are in their shorts, t-shirts and slippers enjoying the summer holidays. Every sunny day they can be found in the woods, where they_ _’d built a hut from branches at the start of their vacation. They bring lunch every day in a knapsack; every day the woods are the scenery to a new adventure; sometimes the boys are action heroes, Disney characters, cowboys and Indians and once the woods were a haunted forest. Which hadn_ _’t ended too well when Oliver ran out of the woods screaming. He didn_ _’t want to return the next day; that was the end of the haunted forest._

****

_They are gathering rocks, Oliver and Luke are standing in the middle of the stream; Louis and Stan are collecting larger rocks from the woods._

_“Stan, psst we_ _’re being watched...again._ _” Louis whispers to his friend as he points his head a bit backwards, as subtle as possible. Stan looks at him and then over his friend_ _’s shoulder. Stan nods. They go back to the stream together, placing the collected rocks in the stream where Luke and Oliver are still gathering pebbles._ _“Guys, the little boy is back, what are we going to do?_ _” Louis whispers to his other friends. They shrug._ _“He looks so lonely, can_ _’t we just invite him to play with us?_ _” Louis begs his friends. He_ _’s been aware of the boy since the beginning of the week. He hides behind trees where he watches Louis and his friends play, but never shows himself entirely._

_“Sure, if he wants to._ _” Oliver concedes, Stan and Luke nod in agreement._

_“Shall I go fetch him?_ _” Louis asks and before they can answer Louis is gone, into the woods. He walks back to the spot he and Stan had seen the boy last. There he is, sitting on a stone, playing with leaves on the ground._ _“Hello, little boy._ _” Louis greets him softly. He doesn_ _’t want to startle the young boy. The little boy sits up straight immediately, he looks a bit scared._

_“Hi_ _” he mumbles shyly, wrapping his hands around his knees._

_“Don_ _’t be scared, I_ _’m not going to hurt you. I was just going to ask if you would come and play with me and my friends._ _” Louis asks. The boy looks up in surprise, his wide green eyes light up at Louis_ _’ question._

_“Really?_ _” he wonders. Louis nods._

_“I_ _’m Louis, but my friends call me Tommo. What is your name?_ _” The boy frowns and hesitates. Louis looks at him in confusion. Surely, the boy knows his own name?_

_“Harold_ _… my name is Harold._ _” he says affirmative. Louis raises an eyebrow._

_“How old are you, Harold?_ _” Another frown and then the boy raises two hands indicating he_ _’s six years old._ _“Ah, so you_ _’re six! I_ _’m eight and so are my friends. Let_ _’s go meet them._ _“Louis holds his hand out to pull the boy up from his seat, the boy puts a small hand in his and smiles at Louis._ ****

_“Boys, this is Harold._ _” Louis introduces his little friend to his other friends. Harold beams. Louis tells Harold the names of his friends and soon they_ _’re playing in the stream, building the dam together, shouting when they finally succeed to make the stream diverge a little to the left. They splash and jump around, making a circle singing:_

****

_We all stand here_

_In this big ring_

_And as we stand_

_We loudly sing,_

_Clap your hands now,_

_One, two, three!_

_The one I touch must_

_Try to catch me!_

****

_They repeat the song over and over and Harold keeps insisting the last phrase is "Try to get me". The other boys try to convince him it isn_ _’t, but Harold stubbornly shakes his head. Around dinner time they walk back to their homes. Harold keeps following Louis._

_“Where do you live?_ _” Louis asks. Harold frowns again._

_“With grandma._ _” Oh, Louis thinks. The boy doesn_ _’t have parents he assumes, but doesn_ _’t dare to ask._

_“Shall I walk you back to your grandma?_ _” he offers. Harold beams and nods. Louis takes his hand and together they walk towards the harbour. Harold halts in front of a cottage, the middle of five in a row, with a small garden._ _“Do I knock?_ _” Louis hesitates. Harold shakes his head._

_“No, grandma is ill._ _” He fumbles a bit with his belt and there hanging on a chain is a key. He opens the door and yells_ _“Grandma I_ _’m home._ _” He turns around and smiles gratefully at Louis._ _“Thanks for letting me play with you and your friends._ _” and then closes the door softly, leaving Louis outside in confusion._ ****

_They see the boy almost daily the next week ; Harold has just as much imagination as Louis and his friends do and they all grow fond of the younger boy, who doesn_ _’t seem to have anyone else than his ill grandmother. He doesn_ _’t talk much about himself. His only dream is to go on a big adventure someday. The friends can relate to that. Harold wants to see the world when he_ _’s older, Luke and Stan want to become professional football players, Oliver wants to become rich and Louis, well, he wants to write ; books, to be more specific. They all doze off in the afternoon sun, no doubt dreaming of promising futures._ ****

_On Friday, a few days before school starts again, a huge ship enters the harbour. Instead of going to their home in the woods the boys decide to go see the ship. They_ _’re all in awe, none of them has seen a vessel that tall before. They sit on a bench on the quay together, admiring the ship, a three-masted barque, Louis_ _’ is already making up a story about being the captain of the ship, not just an ordinary ship but a pirate ship, sailing the oceans with his four friends. Harold is beaming, proud of being Louis_ _’ friend, he admires the older boy and loves listening to him telling stories about great adventures._ ****

_“Hello boys, that_ _’s a mighty tall ship, isn_ _’t it?_ _” the harbourmaster greets them. They all nod in agreement. The harbourmaster, Mr. Green, one of Oliver_ _’s neighbours is accompanied by a tall slender man in a navy blue uniform with lots of shiny buttons. He smiles at them and says_ _“Would you boys like to see the ship?_ _” he_ _’s got a friendly smile._

_“Can we_ _… really?_ _” Oliver asks in disbelief._

_“Of course you can, I was just about to show Mr. Green my ship._ _” They all look at Mr. Green expectantly._

_“It_ _’s fine boys, you can come with us._ _” he reassures them._

****

_The boys are really excited and all ears when Captain Anderson tells them about the ship_ _’s history, how it was built in 1985 and how they take part in maritime festivals all over the world with other tall ships._

_“All across the world?_ _” Harold wants to know. Captain Anderson smiles at the little boy who is clearly fascinated by the hustle and bustle on the vessel. Louis takes Harold by the hand as not to lose him on the ship as the boy tends to run off to all sides of the ship when he sees something that captivates him. So little Harold has a thing for boats, Louis thinks._

_The boys are treated to iced lemonade in the captain_ _’s suite. They thank him for showing them the beautiful ship and trail after Mr. Green to go back home._

_Louis walks Harold back to the door of the house, like he_ _’s been doing every day the past week, but never has set foot in the cottage. The boy looks over his shoulder so he can still see the ship._

_“That was awesome._ _” he sighs. Louis looks down at him, smilingly. He_ _’s never seen the boy so completely enthralled by anything the past week. Whenever they talked about their families, Harold never participated in the conversation, he only frowned and looked a bit sad. Louis only knows he_ _’s living with his grandma, who_ _’s still ill._

_“Do you think I can meet your grandma today?_ _” Louis asks carefully. Harold frowns and shakes his head._

_“She doesn_ _’t like visitors._ _”_

_“Alright then, see you tomorrow._ _” Louis waves until Harold_ _’s inside._ ****

_The next day Louis, Oliver, Luke and Stan play in the woods._

_“Can_ _’t believe we_ _’re going back to school already._ _” Stan mumbles as he eats his sandwich. It_ _’s noon, they_ _’re sitting at the side of the stream, near the dam they built._

_“Boys, Harold_ _’s still not here, do you think he_ _’s ill too?_ _” Louis softly says._

_“Don_ _’t know, we can check?_ _” Oliver offers. They finish their lunches and head to the row of houses near the harbour. Louis knocks on the door of the cottage in the middle._

_“Harold_ _…. are you there?_ _” he calls. There_ _’s no answer. Louis shifts a bit so he_ _’s almost pressed to the door trying to hear if there_ _’s anyone in. The door opens under his weight. Louis jumps back in surprise. His friends look at him in confusion. Louis steps inside and calls again. Still no reply. He summons his friends to step inside too. They walk slowly inside. The doors in the corridor leading to a kitchen and living room are all ajar. Louis peaks around the door to the living room. It_ _’s empty, completely empty, no furniture, no carpet as if it had been empty for a long time. Stan and Luke are in the kitchen. Louis and Oliver join them._ _“There_ _’s nothing here._ _” The boys look at each other utterly confused. They try upstairs, but like downstairs, all the rooms are unoccupied and empty._

_“Are you sure he lives here?_ _” Luke asks Louis._

_“Yeah, I_ _’ve been walking him home every day_ _…. I don_ _’t understand_ _…” Louis whispers._

_“We could ask the neighbours?_ _” Oliver suggests. They knock on the other door. A friendly old man opens the door._

_“Hello boys, can I help you?_ _” he asks. Louis quickly asks about the old woman and the young boy from next door. The man looks at him not-understanding._ _“The house has been empty for months, son._ _”_

_“Oh_ _… well thank you, anyway._ _” Louis says politely. When the old man closes the door they look at each other._

_“I find it scary._ _” Oliver admits._

_“Yeah, me too._ _” Luke says quietly. Louis has tears in his eyes, he_ _’s about to cry. Stan wraps an arm around him and comforts him in his own clumsy way._

_“Where can he be?_ _”_ _Louis_ _’ whispers, trying to swallow his tears._

_“I know!_ _” Luke exclaims._ _“Let_ _’s go back to the ship!_ _” Louis looks up in surprise._

_“Of course! He_ _’s probably there!_ _” The boys run to the harbour, but stop in their tracks when they see the vessel is not there anymore._

_“Let_ _’s ask Mr. Green!_ _” Oliver runs to the harbourmaster_ _’s office, his friends running after him._

_“Hello boys, back again?_ _” Mr. Green smiles at them._

_“Yes sir_ _…. can we ask when the tall ship sailed?_ _” Oliver pants. Mr. Green checks the itinerary._

_“10 pm last night, why?_ _”_

_“Nothing_ _… did you see the little boy, Harold, who was with us yesterday?_ _” Louis asks impatiently._

_“No_ _… sorry lad._ _” Louis_ _’ shoulders slump, this was their last hope. Harold_ _’s gone_ _… his sweet little friend disappeared without a trace._

****

Louis looks up to Gemma from under his eyelashes, eyes full of tears. Gemma’s tears are streaming over her cheeks. She gets up and walks over to Louis and hugs him. He holds her and they both cry over the loss of their little brother and friend.

**  
** Gemma makes them a quick lunch, they eat on the sofa in the living room. Gemma put on a DVD showing her parents, herself and her brother when they were young. Harry (or Harold) on his 6th birthday, right before the family moved to Oman for Mr. Styles’ work. The boy being so excited about the ship he got from his parents and the toy camera from his grandma. Louis remembers the excitement from the little boy about the tall ship in the harbour.

“I’ve never seen anyone being so excited about something. He was thrilled we were invited by the captain to tour the ship.” Louis smiles.

“I still wonder if he did go on that ship that night.” Gemma sighs.

“Do you know why he called himself Harold?”  

“Grandma always called him that. He lived with her after mum had to come back with him from Oman, because his lungs couldn’t handle the climate. He got very sick very often. We were only going to be in Oman for a year, but Harry had the asthma attacks so often, the doctors in the hospital advised to get him back to England, so mum took him back to live with grandma and came back two weeks later. Grandma got sick in July and died in August of that year, Auntie Bev had been looking after her in her house until the end. After the funeral she took Harry with her to London where she lived at the time; that’s where Harry disappeared. They’ve been looking for him all over. Not a trace of him. You said you lived in Southampton at the time?”  Louis nods. “He probably jumped on a random train and ended up in Southampton, I assume.” Gemma says in thought.

“Could be. All we knew he lived with his sick grandmother in the cottage near the harbour, it’s only after he disappeared we found out, nobody had lived there for a long time. It’s like he didn’t want us to find out…. I don’t know. It still doesn’t make sense.” Louis replies. His head’s in his hands and his elbows are leaning on his knees. “We never told our parents at the time, only after he was missing I told my mum about him. She dismissed it as being one of my stories, never really believed me. A few years later my parents divorced and me and my mum moved to Doncaster. I lost touch with my friends, except for Stan. He didn’t want to come, doesn’t remember much of it anymore.”

“Hold on, are you the writer of Captain Brighthead, that children’s book?” Gemma asks suddenly. Louis lifts his head in surprise.

“You know the book?” he asks her in disbelief.

“Sure! I babysit a little girl, she loves the book!” Gemma’s smile reminds him of someone, but he doesn’t know who, probably her little brother’s. They talk a bit about his book and work and Gemma tells him more about their family. Her parents divorced a year after their son disappeared. She doesn’t see her dad often. Her mother lives in a home, the loss of her son had taken its toll on her health. Gemma tells him, she is about to sell their family home since she wants to move to Manchester, but finds it hard. “Let me show you Harry’s room. We kept it like it was before we went to Oman.”  Louis follows her upstairs. The room is small, baby blue painted walls with posters of Disney characters:  Bambi and Peter Pan, he remembers seeing the room on TV. “He loved the Disney movies.” Gemma tells him. She walks over to the bed and picks up a white bear. “Mr. Snuggles, he called his bear. Auntie Bev kept it in her suitcase when they were travelling to London. It’s all we got back…”  Gemma swallows. Louis swallows too. “He was a bright, young boy, full of adventure, fond of all animals. Such a sweet boy. Where can he be, Louis? Where? “And she starts crying again. Louis kneels before her and holds her.

“I wish I knew, Gemma, I wish I had more information for you.” he whispers, trying to hold back his own tears. Gemma's question keeps repeating in his head over and over again on the way back to London.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working slowly towards the end of the story, not that anyone will notice, since the fic has only a few hits ;-) I'm determined to finish it though. For those of you who do enjoy the story: I'm close to writing the final chapters, still think it's going to be 8 chapters, might be 7 chapters.


	5. Fall of 2015 - part 2

It’s still pouring with rain when he arrives at London Euston, it’s only a ten minute walk from the station to the apartment he shares with Liam, but enough to get soaking wet on the way there. And soaking wet he is when he comes home. He walks past the living room to the bathroom and sighs when he’s in there. The second time today he’s thoroughly soaked. He peels off the wet clothes and throws them in a corner, picks up a towel to wrap around his waist and goes into his bedroom. Within a few minutes he’s dressed in black sweatpants, grey T-shirt, maroon hoodie and black socks. He hears Liam singing to a Sam Smith song and follows the sound. Liam’s in the kitchen preparing dinner.

“Ah smells good! What are we having?” he shouts, startling Liam who clearly had not heard Louis coming back home.

“Geez Tomlinson, you could have said you were home!” Liam glares at him, while stirring the sauce he’s making.

“Aww, so sorry mate.” Louis grins.

“We’re having pasta, sit down, it’s almost ready and then you can tell me all about your trip today.”

“You mean you’re the only one who’s seen him after he disappeared?” Liam asks in disbelief.

“Yeah, so it seems.” Louis answers while eating the last of his spaghetti. “We exchanged our numbers, just in case.” he tells Liam.

“What do you think happened?” Liam inquires carefully.

“I can’t be sure, but I always thought he’d gone on that ship. It would be the only logical explanation to me. On the other hand, the captain would have recognized him, I suppose. So that doesn’t make sense either…. I just don’t know, Liam, but it bothers me a great deal.”

“Anyway you could find out?” Liam asks him.

“Don’t know, it’s been so long. I don’t remember what the name of the ship was or the exact date.” Louis shrugs.

“I’m so sorry mate, wish I could help.” Liam says comfortingly.

“I know, thanks. There is something else that I can’t get my head round. Gemma showed me some videos of him and their family. And there’s something about that little boy that reminds me of someone, but I don’t know who. Maybe it’s his sister, but I’ve only met her today. Maybe I’m just imagining things, think I’ll have an early night.”

The next weeks go by in a blur. Louis’ book is doing great, he should be so happy, his dream has happened, but somehow there’s something missing, he keeps thinking about his trip to Manchester, he kept in touch with Gemma. She’s told him he’s still the only one she’s seen after the broadcast, no one else came forward. She’s disappointed, but also realistic, after all it’s been a long time since her brother disappeared. Even though she keeps saying she’s glad Louis came and told her about his memory of the little brother, he can’t shake off the feeling he’s failed the family, as if he’s sure he knows more, but he can’t recollect. It’s always there, during the day at work, at night in bed. He’s feeling restless and it shows at work.

“Louis, can I see you in my office please?” Simon calls him in at work.

“Yes sir, I’ll be right over.” Louis rises from behind his desk, he’s so tired, and he feels like he could sleep for weeks. He makes his way to his boss’ office, smiles at Miranda who motions him to go right through to Simon’s office. He knocks and after he hears a “come in” from the other side of the door, he opens it and walks in. Simon has a preference for oak and velvet. The bookshelves in his office are handmade, a craftsman’s job. A desk made of solid oak, chairs with green velvet seats and a thick moss green carpet covering the floor.

“Hello Louis, take a seat, please.” Simon sits behind his desk and points to a seat. Louis sits down, feeling a bit nervous. He’s got no idea why he’s here. Last time he was summoned in, it was for publishing his book. Simon seems to feel Louis’ tension. “Relax, it’s nothing bad, just want to talk to you.” Louis lets out a quiet sigh. “I think you need some time off.” Okay, so Simon gets straight to the point. “I’ve seen your schedule over the past months. Miranda tells me you never decline an offer promoting the book and you’re still editing the same amount of scripts as your co-workers.” Simon continues. Louis just nods. “Miranda tells me you look tired and I can confirm, she’s right, now that I see you in my office. So, as your boss, I’m ordering you to take time off.” Louis is about to protest, but Simon raises his hand, he obviously doesn’t accept any protest from him, so Louis just concedes.

“Alright, sir, if you think it’s best, I’ll take time off.” he says.

“You can discuss the details with Miranda. Have a good vacation, Tomlinson, go somewhere nice, enjoy yourself and relax a bit. Off you go!” Simon smiles at him. Louis stands up.

“Thank you, sir and I will.”

“So, I’m off as of Saturday… and I have no idea what I am going to do!”  Louis says when he and Liam are having dinner that night in the kitchen.

“Go somewhere sunny, enjoy cocktails, lounge at the poolside and eye gorgeous guys from behind your aviators and pull one too.” Liam happily supplies. Louis snorts.

“Thanks mate, you sound like a commercial for a travel agency.” he replies sarcastically. “Not really in the mood for that kind of holiday.”

Liam folds his hands, his arms resting on the table.

“I have another idea.” he says carefully. “Not sure if you’ll like it, but it could be an option.” Liam looks at Louis.

”Alright, spill it.” Louis encourages his friend.

” You could go to Roanoke, stay at my parents’ cottage. You loved it over there.” Liam says softly. Louis tenses. Yes, he loved it, but it’s also the place where he met the only guy he’s ever loved and lost…. Harry.

“I don’t know, Liam. Yes, I loved it there. It would be great to see some people again, like Niall, Dan and Pru, but I don’t think I could handle meeting... Harry.” Louis says. A sadness is washing over him.

“Look, if you’re worried about meeting him… I could text Niall. Harry was usually there in summer only.” Liam offers, still looking at Louis. Louis leans back in his chair. The idea appeals to him, he’s just not ready to meet Harry again.

“Yeah… if you could, I’d appreciate it.”

 

So he finds himself on the plane to New York again, on the first Sunday in November, this time all by himself. Even after Niall confirmed Harry was not in Roanoke Village, Louis had doubts going back. So many places that would remind him of Harry, he wasn’t sure if he was ready for it. Liam’s persuasion and Niall’s enthusiastic text finally made him decide to just go. Niall would meet him at the airport. He managed to sleep on the plane, so the journey wasn’t that long. When he finally lands at Norfolk International Airport he smiles to himself. The closer he got the more he was looking forward to this unexpected holiday.  He’s rolling his suitcase with him when he walks through the gate at customs.

 “Louis!” Niall runs towards him and throws his arms around him in a tight hug. “So good to see you mate! Heard you’re a famous writer now!” Louis chuckles, typical Niall.

“Good to see you too, Niall! Heard you’re the proud owner of the pub now.” he replies with a grin.

“I am, I am…. you should come tonight. Greg would love to meet you too, I’m on late shift tonight, only have to be there at 6 pm.” Niall informs him.

They put his suitcase in the trunk of Niall’s old car and leave.

“It’s warmer than I expected.” Louis admits.

“Yeah, it does get cold, but not like in Ireland and England in fall and winter. Although we do get some snow occasionally in winter.” Louis throws his jacket in the backseat.

“So tell me… how come you’re the owner now?” Louis inquires as he leans his head against the seat.

“Ah well, my dad has been ill on and off for two years and the pub was too much for him and Greg didn’t really want to take over, he’s planning going back to Ireland. I love the pub, so it was only natural that I’d take over the place. I made a few changes, nothing much, renovated the toilets and the kitchen. I’ll show you, if you’re interested?” Niall is enthusiastic, Louis can tell he loves owning the pub.

 “Sure, I’d love to see.” he smiles.

“So… how come you’re here?” Niall asks quietly. Louis sighs.

“My boss told me to take a vacation. I’d been working as well as promoting the book all around the country and… well, something happened recently that has been occupying my mind lately, something from my past. I needed to get away from London. Liam suggested I’d come here…. so here I am.” Louis tells him, already feeling a sadness coming back to him.

“You know Harry hasn’t been here this summer. He’s changed a bit since you met him. His unknown past is haunting him more than ever before, preventing him from moving on. I really feel bad for him. No one seems to be able to help him.”  Niall’s voice is quiet and serious.

“I haven’t heard from him in years, Niall. He decided it was better for the both of us. I’ve been a mess for a very long time. Never been quite able to forget him, that’s why Liam asked you if he was here. I don’t think I could handle seeing him again.” Louis’ eyes fill with tears, he quickly wipes over his eyes. Niall pats his leg.

“Sorry mate, if it helps: Harry was a mess too for months after you left.” Louis sighs deeply.

Niall holds in front of the cottage.

“Here ya go, mate! Welcome back!” Louis waves at Niall, promising to come to the pub for dinner and meeting the rest of the Horan family. He smiles when he comes in, still the same maritime themed living room. He decides to take the suitcase upstairs first. He chooses the same bedroom as years before. Breaths in the salty air as he opens the window. It’s so quiet outside, not many people on the beach. He can only see a few ships on the Sound, partly because it’s a bit hazy. He steps back, looks around the bedroom, nothing really changed in the house.

“Let’s get to work.” he tells himself. He opens the suitcase and stuffs his clothes in the wardrobe and puts the case under the bed; it hardly fits, but he manages to push it far enough. He changes into sweatpants and a shirt, his jeans on the bed, he’ll put them back on later when he goes to the pub.

Downstairs he puts the kettle on and opens his laptop. He mails his mum telling her he’s arrived safely, answers a few work-related mails and closes the laptop. He takes his cup of tea with him to the porch and watches the Sound, feels himself relax, just breathing in the air and watching the water surface. He should ask about surfing if he sees Dan. Maybe it’s too cold to go surfing, he has no idea. He’d love to go, though. A car passes and holds at the cottage next door. A blonde young man steps out of the car, holding two cameras. He opens the trunk and picks up a paper bag containing groceries. With his hands full and the car key between his lips he walks towards the front door of the cottage next door. Louis can’t help but smiling to himself, wondering when the guy will drop the groceries as the bag seems pretty heavy. He doesn’t have to wait long. When the man steps up to the porch of his house, the belt of one of his cameras loops around the handrail so the poor guy is involuntary pulled back, slips from the steps and drops the bag, oranges and other grocery items rolling away on the path.

“Damn!” he curses, and while opening his mouth dropping the car keys through a hole between two boards on the porch. “Shit!” Louis can’t help but laugh out loud earning him a glare from his neighbour.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude.” Louis shouts at the man. He steps down from his porch and walks to his neighbour, holding out his hand to help him get up.  “I’m Louis, your neighbour, for a while anyway. Need help?” he offers while he looks at the scattered items around him.

“Hi, I’m Taylor and yeah... I’d appreciate the help, thanks.” Louis gathers the oranges in his arms while his neighbour opens the front door and picks up the rest of his groceries.

“Where do you want them? “  Louis asks him as he follows Taylor into the house.

“Just put them on the kitchen counter, if you will.” Louis drops the oranges on the counter and goes back outside to find Taylor on his knees on the porch, looking through the hole between the boards. “Could you give me the hook hanging behind you?” Taylor asks him without looking up. Louis looks behind him and yep, right behind him there’s a hook hanging on the wall next to a chair. He hands it to Taylor, who looks up and smiles “Thanks.” then lets the hook sink between the boards. He pokes a few times and then pulls it back, a grin on his face and his ocean blue eyes are sparkling. “Got it!” he says in triumph. Louis laughs.

“Looks like you’ve done this before. “

“Oh yeah, lots of practice… to be honest.” Taylors grins. “So you’re my new neighbour? Didn’t know the Payne’s sold the cottage.” Taylor looks at him in curiosity.

“Oh no… I’m their son’s friend and roommate. Liam offered me to stay here: I’m on vacation.” Louis explains hastily.

“Aha, I see and you just arrived?” Taylor asks, while he pushes his car keys in the pocket of his jacket.

“Yes, Niall just dropped me off.” Louis says.

“Ah the Irish guy from the pub. He’s great, fun guy!” Taylor smiles.

“Yeah he is, well I’ll better be going, get changed and bother Niall and his family for dinner.” Louis excuses himself. “It was nice to meet you.”  

“Nice to meet you too.” Taylor answers.

On his way to the pub he passes the bookshop, unfortunately it’s closed so he just looks at the books on display in the window.

“What?? No way!” he exclaims when he sees a very familiar book cover right in front of him. Rosie has his book for sale. He wants to hug her, but it’s going to have to wait until tomorrow, since it’s dark inside. Happily he walks on, turning into the alley and makes a little happy jump, hoping no one catches him doing that. At the pub he’s greeted by Niall’s family, the music as loud as always, the Script’s Superheroes just ending as he walks in.

“Louis! Good to see you!” Greg hugs him, he shakes the hands of Niall’s parents and they lead him to their family table. A boy brings them plates of food, Louis thinks he’s about 19 years old. “Meet Shane, Louis. Shane works here since last year; he’s even more Irish than we are, he even dances!” Poor Shane’s cheeks turn bright red, almost the same colour as his quiff.

“Nice to meet you Louis.” Shane mumbles as he puts down the plate in front of him.

“Nice to meet you too Shane.” Louis smiles at the poor boy.

“Niall, do you really have to embarrass him every time? You know he doesn’t like you telling others he dances.” His mother shakes her head disapprovingly.

“But mom! He’s good at it, you’ve seen him. Glad someone knows how to do the Irish dancing, not us … we’ve got two left feet!” Niall nudges his brother with his elbow. Greg nods in confirmation. They enjoy dinner together, the family telling him about the pub and some changes in the village since Louis was there last. Louis tells them about his job and his book.

“You know, Rosie sells it in the bookshop? I just saw it in the window display.” Niall grins.

“I may have something to do with that. Liam told me your book was published and when I told Rosie she begged me to have a few sent to her. Liam shipped them last week. He was going to tell you, but when you decided to come he wanted it to be a surprise. He knew you’d be going to Rosie’s bookshop.” Louis is speechless, he opens his mouth to say something, but then closes it again, to everyone’s amusement.

 “Oh...” is all he can think of. Niall pats him on the shoulder. “Go see Rosie tomorrow, she’ll love seeing you. She has a soft spot for you, mate.”

“I certainly will.” Louis says softly, remembering the older lady and the book fair they’d held all those years ago. She was lovely.

“Time to get to work, people. Louis if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the kitchen.” Louis says goodbye to Niall’s parents and follows Niall to the kitchen. Niall proudly shows him the new equipment and worktops, it does look brand new. “You’re staying for a pint?” Niall asks him after the short kitchen tour.

“Yeah, I’ll have one and then probably go back, trying to adjust to the time difference.” Niall goes behind the bar and hands Louis a pint.

“Hey neighbour!”  Louis hears from behind. He turns around and sees Taylor sitting at a table, talking to an older man. Louis walks up to him, the older man leaves. Taylor points at the seat across from him. “Take a seat.”

“I was going to offer you a pint, but Niall beat me to it.” Taylor says.

“Yeah, I just had the grand tour through the kitchen.” Louis grins at him. Taylor laughs.

“Yeah Niall is really proud of it. He’s done a great job with the renovations. He’s got proper music equipment installed for karaoke nights and live music as well.”

“He didn’t even tell me that! Does he still do the pub quiz?” Louis leans his arms on the table.

“Oh yeah, Niall’s trademark.” Taylor confirms with a grin. Louis likes his neighbour, nice guy. He guesses Taylor must be somewhere in his early 30’s. “So tell me a bit about my temporary neighbour. You’re from England and?” Taylor leans forward on his arms as well. Louis tells him he’s 23 and an editor at a publishing company in London and that he’s just published his own book. Taylor whistles. “A promising writer, huh? Family?” Louis sighs.

“Mum and her husband, five younger sisters and a little brother. Two pairs of twins.” Louis sums up. Taylor is laughing out loud.

“Sounds like mine. I’ve got one older brother, two younger brothers and three younger sisters. I’m 32 by the way. “Louis rolls his eyes.

“You’re joking! I thought I was the only one in the world with a never ending list of siblings.”

“My parents did a great job, we do have another brother, kind of. He was never officially adopted, but he’s been with us since he was 13. My parents and siblings live in Tulsa.” Taylor says.

“I see. Well, the younger two are mum and her current husband’s twins, the other four sisters are my stepdad’s kids and my dad left when I was only a few weeks old, never heard from him again.” Louis explains.

“That sucks, man.” Taylor responds.

“What kind of work do you do?” Louis asks him.

“I’m a professional photographer, I specialize in landscape and nature photography, and hence the cameras you saw earlier. I have a small shop here in the village. Drop by anytime, I’ll show you some of my work, if you’re interested.” Taylor invites him.

“I will.” Louis says.

“You want another drink?” Taylor nods. Louis heads over to the bar.

“I see you met your neighbour?” Niall asks pointing towards Taylor.

“Yeah, I met him just after you dropped me off. He seems nice.” Louis says as he watches Niall tapping their pints.

“Yeah, he is. A good photographer too. Did he…” Niall starts, but then shakes his head. Louis raises his eyebrows at him.

“What were you saying?” he asks. Niall looks serious, very unlike Louis knows him.

“Nothing.” Niall says quickly. Louis shrugs, pays for the pints and heads back. They chat for a while and then decide to go back to their homes. They pass by the bookshop. Louis points his book out to Taylor who smiles at Louis’ enthusiasm. Taylor points out where his shop his, it’s not far from the bookshop and on the main road leading towards the Beach Club.

“Well, I guess I see you tomorrow then, goodnight!” Louis says as he walks up the steps to the front door. Taylor waves at him.

“Louis! What a surprise!” Rosie steps quickly from behind the counter to hug him. Louis smiles widely.

 “It’s good to see you, Rosie. How have you been?”

“Fine! Busy as ever. Look, what I got in the children’s section.” She pulls him with her to the children’s corner. His book is on display. “With a little help from Niall and Liam.” Rosie admits with a big smile.

“It’s amazing. Thank you so much. I happened to see a copy in the window display last night, I was so surprised to see my own book just lying there in an American shop.” he sighs, brushing his fingers over his book.

“I already sold one copy.” Rosie proudly tells him. Louis smiles at her. “Looks like you’re doing well in your country.” she says as they walk back to the counter.

“Yeah, I’ve got a great job at a publishing company as an editor.”  He provides.

“Anyone nice in your life?” Louis chuckles, Rosie is a hopeless romantic, it’s her way of asking if he’s seeing anyone.

“Nope, no one special.” he replies. Rosie nods in understanding. She doesn’t pry. They talk for a bit and when Louis leaves the shop, he has a book in a paper bag tucked under his arm. Rosie telling him it’s an absolute must read. He decides to walk over to Taylor’s shop. There's an imitation camera out front and the sign reads “Hanson photography”, so it’s clear he’s found it. He walks in and finds Taylor cleaning lenses at the worktop.

“Hi” he says when he walks in.

“Hey Louis, come in! I was about to make coffee, you want some?” Taylor greets him.

“Yeah, sure, if you don’t mind."

"Have a seat” Taylor walks to a room in the back and Louis takes a seat at a large table. Lots of photographs on the wall, some of local spots, some of highlights in the US. He spots the Golden gate bridge, Statue of Liberty, the White House. Taylor comes back with two steaming mugs.

“You’ve been to a lot of places. “ Louis says while still admiring the wall. Taylor sits down and tells him a bit about some of the photographs and why he took them from that angle.

“You only do nature and landscapes?” Louis asks.

“No, not entirely. I have photos of people photographed outdoors as well. I ‘ll show you” He gets up to pick two photobooks from a shelf. “The first book is just random people and the second are of people that I love.” Louis flips through the first book; it’s mostly children playing. The second book contains only black and white pictures, but every person has a title. He sees unconditional love: showing 3 boys and 2 girls all smiling happily. The next page is family love, Louis sees an older couple, three guys and three girls.

“Your parents and siblings?” Taylor grins.

“Told you I come from a big family.”

“The first pages …. Are those your kids?” Taylor’s face turns into the face of a proud dad.”Yeah they are, they live with their mother in Oklahoma.” Louis gets curious, but doesn’t ask. Maybe he’s divorced or separated. When he turns to the last couple of pages his heart almost stops beating, it’s like a cold hand grips it. He has to take a deep breath, hoping Taylor hasn’t noticed. On top of the page the words Special love are printed and the guy on the photos is too familiar, long wavy hair, wide eyes, big smile with dimples in his cheeks ; it’s unmistakably the boy he fell in love with three years ago… beautiful Harry. He slowly closes the book and hands it back.

“They’re beautiful pictures. Thanks for showing me… I’d better be going now, got a few errands to run. See you soon.” Louis quickly gets up and forces himself to smile at Taylor. Taylor looks a bit confused, but nods and says goodbye.

Once he’s locked the door behind him he allows himself to let the tears flow. The shock of seeing pictures of Harry in the book, being Taylor’s special love has become too much. Obviously Harry moved on whereas he, Louis, is still mourning the loss of his summer love or at least that’s what it was supposed to be, but Louis fell too deep that summer. No guy he met after that summer came even close to that beautiful sweet guy he met in the States. So he worked hard to finish college, got a job at one of Britain’s best publisher’s, wrote the book. Anything to forget about the love he lost. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to return. Even though Harry’s not here, there are so many memories. The beach, the pub, the club, people, the cottage, the bedroom.

The next two days go by fast, he goes out to do some shopping, drops by the bookshop and the pub, but he spends most of his days indoors as it’s pouring with rain. He started reading the book Rosie gave him, he even worked on an idea for a possible new book. He also thinks a lot about Harry and Taylor. He’s got many questions. For how long have they known each other? Is Taylor divorced and maybe bi-sexual? Deep in his heart he doesn’t really want to know what the nature of their relationship is, it makes it harder to act normal to his nice neighbour who is totally oblivious to Louis’ tormented chimaera.

The next morning he decides to go for a walk on the beach, trying to clear his head. It’s when he returns that he runs into Taylor who’s about to get into his car.

“Hey Louis, haven’t seen you for the past two days. Been hauled up inside, were you?” He says cheerfully.

“Yeah kind of.’ he says. “Hey… do you want to come over for dinner tonight, I’m having a guest over I like you to meet.” Louis accepts the invitation, could be fun meeting new people. On his way to Rosie’s he buys a bottle of wine for dinner.

“Hello Louis! Look Pru, who’s here?” Rosie shouts to a girl in the back.

“Louis! “ Prudence emerges from the backroom and hugs her British friend tightly. “So good to see you! How have you been?” She rambles on as she leads him to the table in the middle of the shop. “Sit down, I’ll get you a cup of tea!” Louis chuckles. He likes her. She’s bubbly, enthusiastic and fun. She returns with two cups and drops down on a chair. “Rosie told me you were back. For how long?” Louis shrugs.

“Don’t know exactly, but I’ll be here for a few weeks, probably.” He tells her his boss has sent him on holiday and how Liam offered him the cottage. Prudence works as a solicitor now and helps Rosie out in the bookshop when needed. 

He turns around in front of the mirror. He’s put on his black jeans, a black T-shirt and a grey jacket, not knowing what kind of guest Taylor’s entertaining. He picks up the bottle of wine from the table, puts his mobile in his pocket, grabs the keys and heads next door. He knocks on the door.

“Door is open, come in!” He hears Taylor shouting from inside. He opens the door slowly. The living room is empty. “Come to the kitchen we’re over here!” He hears Taylor's voice from the next room, he walks to the kitchen.

“Hi.” he says, but immediately freezes when he sees the tall man in tight jeans, black shirt and hair in a bun turning around. Louis almost drops the bottle of wine. Harry is staring at him with wide eyes, face shocked and doesn’t utter a word. Taylor, completely oblivious to the situation, turns around, after he’s turned off the stove.

“Wow, you brought wine. Let me introduce you to my guest. Louis, this is Harry.”

“Hi” Louis manages with a tight voice.

“Harry, Louis is my new neighbour, well for a few weeks anyway.” Taylor introduces Louis. He doesn’t seem to notice the tension between his guests. Harry regains his composure first, he walks over to Louis and shakes his hand.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” Louis thinks Harry should’ve become an actor. Louis takes a deep breath and answers

“Nice to meet you too.” his voice still sounding a bit tight. Taylor tells them to have a seat and serves dinner. Harry opens the bottle of wine and pours it into the glasses.

“So Louis, what brings you here to this quaint little island? “ Harry’s voice sounds a bit hoarse. So maybe he’s not as unaffected as Louis thought. He’s even more attractive than Louis remembers. Cheekbones more defined, slight change of dressing, more stylish. How is he even going to make it through tonight? He tells Harry about his job and the book and how he needed time off. Taylor tells Harry how they met, making Harry chuckle and tells Louis Harry’s a photographer and his partner. Louis almost chokes… his worst fear. Harry’s found someone new. They show him some of their work together and Louis has to agree, they’re a good team. Harry loves doing the nature and landscape photography as well as Taylor does, but he prefers photographing people and specializes in black and white photographs. After knocking down another couple of glasses of wine he feels more relaxed, although he can’t help but glancing at Harry most of the time, he just hopes Taylor doesn’t notice his interest in his partner. He caught Harry staring at him a couple of times too, probably just as shocked to see him as he was to see Harry. Taylor wraps an arm around Harry’s shoulders when he leans back on the couch he’s sharing with him. Louis tries to keep his face blank as he watches the scene in front of him, not showing his jealousy. It’s midnight, he thinks it’s safe for him to go back to his cottage without being impolite, so he gets up.

“I should go now, it’s getting late. Thanks for having me over for dinner. I enjoyed tonight. It was nice meeting you, Harry.” He nods towards Harry. Taylor gets up and walks him to the door.

“We should do this again some time. “ Taylor smiles at him when he lets Louis out.

“Yeah, sure. Well, goodnight then.” Louis quickly answers. He steps down and walks to his cottage, opening the door and closing it quickly behind him. He slumps against the door. God, how did he manage to get through tonight? His heart thumps in his throat. He leans his head on his knees, pulls his hair. He wants to call Liam, but decides not to, after all it’s still very early in the morning in London. And he surely can’t text Niall; Harry being one of Niall’s friends. He drags himself upstairs. He hopes the amount of glasses of wine he's had tonight make him fall asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final story will have 7 chapters, I finished it and will publish a new chapter every week. Hope you liked this chapter :-)


	6. Fall of 2015  - part 3

He doesn’t know how long he’s been asleep when he wakes up to a sound he can’t quite place. Rain? Hail? He lies for a while and then hears it again thud, thud as if someone’s throwing pebbles at a window. He listens and frowns, maybe he really did drink too much next door. There it is again… thud, thud. He gets up slowly, his mind still not focusing after just a few hours of sleep and walks to the window, opens the curtain slightly and looks down. There on the sidewalk a tall guy in sweats and long curly hair looks up at him, face barely visible. Louis opens the window a bit further and whisper/shouts

“Harry? What on earth are you doing?”

“Let me in, please!” Harry begs him, folding his hands in front of his chest.

“Don’t think that’s a good idea.” Louis tries to keep his voice down he doesn’t want to wake up the rest of the neighbourhood especially not Taylor.

“Please, Lou…” At hearing his nickname, his heart makes a little jump.

“Alright, just wait.” he gives in.

It probably is a bad idea. He doesn’t know what Harry wants, but he’s not strong enough to refuse Harry’s plea. He stumbles downstairs, still feeling a bit drunk and opens the door. He’s not prepared for what happens next. Harry storms in, closes the door behind him and almost attacks Louis. His arms around Louis’ neck and his lips frantically kissing his’, knocking the breath out of him. Louis stumbles back until he finds himself pinned to the wall, Harry’s mouth still on him, kissing him hungrily. Louis grabs Harry’s hips and utters a few words when Harry pulls back to breath.

“Harry, what the fuck?”

“I missed you so much, so painfully much.” Harry pants in his ear and before Louis can say a word Harry’s lips are back on his'. Oh fuck it! He thinks and kisses Harry back with the same passion. His mouth claiming Harry’s, biting his lower lip, knowing Harry loves it when he does. Harry moans and opens his mouth for Louis’ tongue to explore, his hands run over Louis’ upper body, like he has to memorize before… yeah, before what? Louis comes back to his senses.

“Harry!” he pants as he pulls back. “Harry… please we need to talk.” Harry looks at him with lust in his eyes.

“We’ll talk … later” and he’s back kissing Louis’ neck.

“No… no, Harry please…. what about Taylor?” Louis pants. Harry stills and looks at him in confusion.

“What about him?” he asks Louis, a frown between his eyes and again…. there’s something familiar about it. Damn!  

“You’re his partner?” Louis raises his eyebrows.

“I don’t understand!” Harry is completely confused.

“As in...Maybe you shouldn’t be here, kissing me? “Louis tries to make him understand.

“What do you mean? He’s my step-brother!” Louis stares at him with his mouth open.

“Step-brother?” he repeats slowly, trying to let the meaning of the word sink in.

“Yeah, I told you about him when we first met?” Harry leans back and watches Louis. Oh. Louis smiles and pulls Harry back to him and kisses him fervently, Harry giggles.

“Come… upstairs.” Louis whispers, panting a little. He takes Harry’s hand and leads him to the bedroom, pushes him on the bed and straddles him. He leans forward to continue kissing Harry. “I’ve missed us so much, you have no idea.” he admits. Harry moans when Louis’ kisses his neck.

“Missed this too… so much.” Harry moans as he reaches for Louis’ t-shirt and helps him out of it, Louis helps Harry out of his shirt. They’re both kissing each other’s upper bodies, Harry moans when Louis sucks a love bite in his neck. Louis wiggles back to remove Harry’s sweatpants and boxers. Then removes his own so they’re both naked. In the early morning light he can make out the contours of Harry’s body, still as breath-taking as years ago. Harry grabs his waist and turns them over so he’s now straddled on top of Louis. Louis thinks Harry’s even more gorgeous looking like this, he could come just from watching him naked on top of him. Harry wraps his hand around Louis’ cock, slowly stroking him as he watches him. Louis gasps at the sudden touch, the tip already leaking and sensitive Harry brushes his thumb over the head, making Louis shiver, he doesn’t avert his gaze when Harry grabs himself and takes both cocks in his hand, squeezing them both, brushing his thumb over both tips. Louis can barely hold it, the feeling of his cock brushing against Harry’s, watching Harry lick his lips and pumping their cocks together, slowly at first, but soon speeding up, making them both moan and moving their hips. They keep looking at each other until Harry tilts his head back and lets out a loud groan as he comes, the sight tipping Louis over the edge and he comes hard in Harry’s hand screaming his name. Harry collapses on top of Louis panting, Louis can feel his own heart beat erratically. He strokes Harry’s hair as they both come down from their orgasms. They lay like that for a while, until Louis feels Harry shiver.

“Cold?” he asks, his voice hoarse.

“A little.” Harry mumbles in his chest.

“I’ll get us cleaned up.” Louis whispers on top of Harry’s head. Harry slowly moves until he lies on the bed. Louis jumps off and gets a luke-warm washcloth from the bathroom. He cleans Harry’s stomach and hand softly and then washes the remnants of come from his own body. He throws the cloth back into the bathroom and walks back to the bed. Harry leans on his elbows.

“You want me to go?” his voice sounds uncertain.

“No… no, please stay.” Louis quickly answers. They pull the duvet over them and cuddle. “Let’s get some sleep, yeah?” Louis says.

“Yeah... sleep” Harry yawns and within a few minutes they’re both asleep. Louis’ arm wrapped around Harry’s waist. 

It’s early morning when Louis wakes up with a mouth full of chocolate coloured curls. He smiles, the smell so familiar, the feel of this body pressed to his’ so nice. He could lay like that all day. He closes his eyes again after he’s pressed a soft kiss on the curls. 

It’s a few hours later when he wakes again to the smell of … cooked breakfast? He opens one eye and finds the bed empty next to him. A head with wet curls pokes around the bedroom door.

“Hey sleepy head, come down for breakfast!”  Harry says cheerfully. Louis opens another eye.

“How come I forgot you were always loud in the mornings.” he groans. Harry grins.

“I’m not loud, I’m just a morning person!”

“Yeah, yeah… alright I’m coming.” Louis mumbles, he’s got a slight hangover from the wine last night. Harry is putting eggs and bacon on plates when Louis comes into the kitchen. He wraps his arms around Harry’s waist. “Thanks for making us breakfast, Haz.” He mumbles and plants a kiss on Harry’s shoulder.

They sit opposite each other, staring at each other while taking bites from their breakfast. Neither one of them really knowing how to start a conversation. Harry coughs.

“So… you thought Tay was my boyfriend?” he asks, suppressing a smile.

“Yeah, I did.” Louis admits sheepishly. Harry bursts out in laughter.

“He’s going to have a fit when hears it!” Louis pouts.

“Talking of him… won’t he be wondering where you are?” Harry shakes his head and waves with his mobile.

“Texted him I’d be at the shop later and that I was with a friend.” Louis rolls his eyes.

“Right, friend.” he scoffs.

“I had to think of something, so yeah… friend.” Harry blushes.

“Guess we need to talk.” Louis says after they continued eating in silence. Harry looks up.

“Do you regret last night?” Louis shakes his head.

“No… I don’t, it was a bit unexpected, but I have no regrets.”

“Neither have I.” Harry says as he finishes breakfast, his hand flat on the table.

“So, was this some kind of a one night stand?” Louis asks cautiously. Harry swallows and then shakes his head as he watches his empty plate.

“No….no... I don’t want it to be.” he whispers.

“Neither do I.” Louis answers softly. “But we need to talk, I don’t want us to end up like we did three years ago.” he continues.

“Neither do I, I’ve been heartbroken for months.” Harry admits looking up at Louis with shiny eyes.

“Me too.” Louis takes Harry’s hand that’s been lying on the table and squeezes it.

“I’m so sorry for breaking all contact, making a decision for the both of us. I had to, there was no way I was going to see you again.” Harry’s eyes are wide, tears filling them. “I wanted to go to London, be with you, find a job there, but I can’t even leave the bloody US !” Harry’s voice sounds bitter.

“What do you mean? You wanted to move to …. London? For me?” Louis is confused. Harry nods.

“I applied for a passport, but was denied, because of “insufficient details”, such as a lack of a last name, date of birth, place of birth.” Harry buries his head in his arms and cries. It’s breaking Louis’ heart. He gets up and wraps his arms around the boy’s shoulders and cradles him. He has to bite back his own sobs, it’s then that he decides he’s going to help Harry find out his true identity, if he lets him.

“Oh Harry, God….I wish you had told me then. I would have understood, would’ve helped where possible. I cared about you so much, I still do. There’s never been anyone in my life anymore after us.” He confesses, stroking Harry’s back.

“You mean I was your last?”

“Well, I had … hook-ups, but not a relationship, never met anyone special again.” Louis explains.

“I tried the dating thing, but… I guess you ruined it for me, I had a few hook-ups too, but that’s all they were.” Harry admits.

“Hmm, so we’re going to try again then?” Louis asks.

“I want to…. although I don’t see how we’re going to pull that off. I can’t leave the US.” Harry’s face falls.

“But I can move here… I mean I’m sure I could find a job here in editing and I can write books anywhere….” Louis suggests. Harry looks up in wonder.

“Would you do that… for me?”

“Positive!” Louis confirms with a smile. “And we’ll talk about your travel problem later, there has to be something that can be done.” Louis says with determination in his voice. Harry smiles, not convinced about that last part.

 

They walk through the door of “Hanson Photography”. “

Hi Taylor.” Harry smiles at his stepbrother.

“Hey… there you are….and Louis?” Taylor puts down the lens he’s cleaning and looks at them. Confusion clear in his eyes.

“I spend the night at Louis’ or rather…. with Louis.” Harry blurts out. Taylor eyes Louis suspiciously. “Don’t look at him like that! I met him years ago when he and Liam spent their holidays at the Payne’s cottage and we dated, so we already knew each other before last night.” Harry defends Louis or rather the both of them.

”Right.” Taylor crosses his arms and looks at them. “Any explanation why you two just didn’t say so, hmm?’’ They can tell Taylor is a bit offended by them.

“There’s a reason, yeah… it’s actually very funny.” Harry giggles and Louis blushes. Taylor raises his eyebrows at them. “Louis thought you and I were a couple!” Harry exclaims before he bursts out in laughter. Taylor’s jaw drops, a smile is forming around his mouth and soon he joins Harry in his laughter. Louis feels rather stupid.

“Oh mate, that’s hilarious, why did you think that?” Taylor wants to know after he’s wiped his eyes with a Kleenex.

“Well… you two seemed cosy with one another and I had seen your photobook mentioning Harry being “A special love”... so I assumed you two were a couple.” Louis explains sheepishly.

”Ah… right, now I understand. Well, we’re not, he’s my stepbrother, the one I told you about and I’m happily married. Just moved over here to set up another branch of the photoshop…. we’re expanding, you see?” Louis sighs. Harry feels a bit sorry for him and kisses him on the cheek.

“Look Tay, do you really need me today? I mean I’d love to visit some of my old friends here together with Louis. “ Harry asks with a pleading voice.

“Nah, you go. See you later. Have fun!” Taylor goes back to cleaning the lens and the boys leave the shop.

“Where to first?” Louis asks.

“Niall’s!” Harry exclaims. He pulls Louis by the hand and almost runs to the pub. “Niall!” he shouts when he enters the door.

“Harry! What the heck are you doing here! It’s almost winter, mate!” Niall hurries from behind the counter to hug his friend and former employee, that’s when he sees Louis.“Bloody hell, you two already met?” he shouts as he lets go of Harry. Louis wraps an arm around Harry’s waist.

“Yes Niall and Harry loves to tell how we met.” he glares at Harry, who starts giggling again. Niall leans against the bar.

“Come sit, I’ll pour us some coffee and then you can tell me!”  They enjoy their little get together and of course Niall bursts out in laughter when he hears about Louis’ assumption. “Oh mate, when I saw you with Taylor that first night, I thought you knew who he was. I just found it odd, you would meet up with Harry’s step bro.” Niall confesses. Louis rolls his eyes at him. “You’re back for how long?” Niall asks Harry.

“Just as long Taylor needs me to help set up the shop. And well… depends on Louis too. We’re going to give it another try, just need to sort out how we’re gonna make it work this time.” Harry frowns. Louis holds his breath… that frown...it’s so familiar, but...no, it’s gone.

“Yeah, we’ll have to sort that out.” he pats Harry’s shoulder. 

They walk to “their” rock.

“I forgot how peaceful and serene this place is at times. I may even like it better off season.” Louis muses when they sit next to each other on it, watching the Sound.

“It’s still my favourite spot.” Harry replies softly. “Remember the last time we were here, together?” he asks Louis, there’s a fond smile on his face.

“I certainly do, it’s one of my favourite memories.” Louis smiles. Harry’s hands cup Louis’ face.

“Mine too.” He leans in and brushes his lips over Louis’. When he pulls back he whispers “I still can’t believe you’re here. How long can you stay?”  

“Haven’t discussed a date with my boss, but I’m here for quite a few weeks, three… maybe four?” he replies while pushing a curl from Harry’s forehead.

“Wish I could come with you… see London, see where you live….” Harry says longingly and then there’s that frown again, Louis softly brushes his thumb over it.

“Harry… can I ask you something? It’s pretty personal and I understand if you don’t want to talk about it.” He bites his lip.

“What do you want to know?” Harry looks at him with expectant eyes.

“Have you ever been back to the orphanage in New York?”

“No, why should I? It was never home to me.” Harry shrugs.

“Have you ever asked the staff if they remembered how you got there? Who brought you there?” Louis continues.

“Kind of when I got older, but most of the staff members who knew me when I was little, had left by the time I started asking questions. Why?”  

“Don’t you want to find out?” Louis’ hand is caressing Harry’s. Harry looks up at him, tears welling up in his eyes.

“There’s nothing I want more, but I don’t know where to start and how and I’m scared, I can’t do it on my own, Louis. What if I will never find out? Or worse, what if something awful happened? I don’t think I could handle it.” His voice is hoarse. Louis wraps his arm around Harry’s shoulders and takes a deep breath.

“I would help you, I’d support you…,  ** _IF_**  you want. But it has to be your choice, I care about you… deeply. I only want what is best for you. Maybe if you find out about your past, you might finally be able to find some peace.” Louis hopes he hasn’t overstepped the boundaries when he sees Harry frowning and thinking he’s afraid Harry’s angry with him. Then Harry talks.

“You’re right. I need to find peace. I keep moving from one place to another, but it’s never … home. Roanoke is the only place I keep coming back to, but Louis… “Harry sits up straight and looks him in the eyes. “I need to be sure you’ll be there all the way. It might take long before I find out anything and I can’t do it alone, I know I’ll give up, run away to another place, hoping to make a new start, because that is how it’s always been… trying to find … a home.” Louis feels the tension in Harry’s body, sees the fear in his eyes. He runs a hand through the boy’s curls when he says softly, but determined.

“I promise I’ll be there for you, no matter how long it takes.” Harry leans his head on Louis’ shoulder.

“Thank you.” he whispers. Louis’ head leans on the top of Harry’s head. They just sit there in silence each in their own thoughts. 

“Tay… do you think your parents know how I ended up in the orphanage? I never asked, I was so happy they took me in. They’ve been great, I couldn’t have asked for better “step” parents.” They sit in Taylor’s kitchen. Harry just told him about his decision to find out who he really is. Taylor had hugged him and said he’d support Harry and Louis as much as possible in their search.

“Think they don’t, but why don’t we ask mom? We could Skype?” Taylor suggests. And after Taylor sent Diana a text message, they sit in front of Taylor’s laptop waiting for Skype to connect. 

“Hi mom, thanks for joining us.” Taylor smiles at the screen.

“You’re welcome boys. So what is it you want to ask?” Diana asks. Harry tells her about his decision and if she has information for him that might be helpful. The boys see Diana frown on the screen. “You didn’t bring any belongings apart from a few clothes.” She says, her face still frowning. “I can text you the address of the orphanage and you should ask after Matron Hernandez, she was head of the orphanage when they took you in. I’m sorry I don’t have more information for you, Harry.” she apologizes. They chat for a while Harry introducing Louis as his boyfriend which kind of surprised Louis, but he’s happy with the new title. 

“So, I got the address and phone number from Diana.” Harry says when he sits down on the couch in Louis’ cottage. He’s fumbling nervously with his mobile.

“Scared?” Louis hands him a cup of tea, which Harry takes gratefully.

“Mainly nervous. I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.” Harry almost whispers staring at the phone in his hand.

“Do you want to make the call in private? I can step outside, if you want.” Louis offers with an encouraging smile.

“No... no, I need you here!” Harry quickly answers, grabbing Louis’ hand. “Alright… alright… I’ll call… now.” He types the digits, takes a deep breath and presses call. Almost immediately there is a response on the other side. “Hello?” Harry says. “My name is Harry, I … uhm... grew up at Saint Patricks. I was taken in by the Hanson family from Tulsa, Oklahoma? My stepmother told me to ask for Matron Hernandez?” There’s a reply from the other side of the line. “Oh… yes, that would be great. Thank you so much.” Then Harry presses to end the call. He stares at the phone for a while. “Okay….”he drawls out.

“Well… what did they say?” Louis can’t contain his curiosity.

“Fancy a trip to New York?” Harry looks up at him with a small grin.

“What?” Louis exclaims.

“I’ve got an appointment at Saint Patricks, the day after tomorrow!” Harry explains, his eyes wide with excitement.

” Wow… that’s … great, right?” Louis is just as excited as Harry is.

“You’ll come with me right? Please?” Harry wants to know.

“Yeah… New York… wow!” Louis sits down next to Harry and hugs him. They both start laughing. The journey has begun.

Taylor drives them to the airport.

"Your tickets and the address of the hotel. I took the liberty of booking a double room." Taylor grins as he hands Harry the tickets and the address. Louis and Harry blush.

"Thanks for your help." Harry hugs his step brother.

"Good luck, little brother. Please keep me updated." Taylor whispers, then he turns to Louis and gives him a hug too.

"Take good care of my little brother. He means a lot to me." he says to Louis.

"I will, I promise." Louis assures him. When they are seated on the plane, Louis says "I can't believe we're going to New York." He's told Liam everything on the phone last night after Harry and Louis went to Niall to inform him about their plan. Everyone's been very supportive so much to their relief. 

"I haven't been back since I was 13, I'm excited and nervous going back." Harry admits. 

A taxi takes them from JFK to the Belvedere Hotel on West 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Harry types a text to Taylor "Can we afford this?" and sends it along with a picture of the hotel. Louis is staring at the building, convinced Taylor gave them the wrong address.

"Present from the family, don't worry, enjoy!" Taylor replies.

"Okay, well... let's check in!" Harry smiles at Louis. Louis grins back. Fifteen minutes later they're in their room. They drop their luggage in a corner and walk to the window. The view from their room over the city is magnificent. Louis wraps his arms around Harry's waist.

"You've got a generous family, love." Harry beams.

"Yeah, they're great people."

"So ... how about we christen our bed...hmm?" Louis wiggles his eyebrows and motions to the king-size bed behind them. Harry giggles when Louis softly pushes him on the bed.

"You're naughty, you know that?" He giggles again when Louis tickles his sides. 

An hour later they're lying next to each other, naked, all sweaty and panting, condom discarded in the bin.

"Hmm, I'm hungry ... you?" Louis says, still panting a little.

"Me too." Harry answers.

"How about we take a shower and go out for dinner tonight... my treat." Louis proposes.

"Sounds wonderful!" Harry sighs.

"Okay, come on... let's shower together." Louis jumps off the bed, pulling Harry's with him. Within half an hour they're dressed and ready to go. It's cold in New York, so they bundle up, Louis tucking a dark blue beanie over his hair, hands in the pockets of his winter jacket. Harry's wearing a black woollen coat and he's wrapped a grey scarf around his neck. They walk a few blocks before they spot an Italian restaurant. A nice waitress leads them to a table in the back of the restaurant. They order cokes, wanting to stay sober for Harry's appointment at Saint Patricks tomorrow. After they've ordered they chat a bit.

"Do you remember where the orphanage was? In which part of the city?" Louis asks.

"Yeah, it's actually here in Manhattan. It's close to the Cathedral. It was closed somewhere in the early 1900's, but reopened in the 1980's. It's not too far from the hotel." Harry tells him. "It's going to be weird seeing it again after all those years."

Harry tells Louis a bit about the building and how he remembers the dorms and the dining hall while they finish their meal. They walk back to the hotel and after a drink in the hotel bar they go up to their room to have an early night.

"It's huge!" Louis exclaims as he looks up. They stand before Saint Patricks Orphanage, about to ring the doorbell.

"Yeah, it is. It's even bigger than I remembered." Harry follows Louis' gaze and then presses the bell. The door is opened by a tall slender lady.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she asks looking at the both of them.

"Uhm, my name is Harry and I have an appointment with Matron Hernandez." Harry says.

"Oh yes, come in." the lady says. They follow her to what Harry remembers as Matron Hernandez' office. She knocks on the door and then enters the office.

"Harry is here to see you, Matron." she announces them.

"Oh very well, let him come in." she answers. The lady lets Harry and Louis enter the room. Harry shakes Matron Hernandez' hand and introduces Louis to her.

"Hello Harry, nice to see you again, and nice to meet you too, Louis." she says. "Please take a seat." She points to the seats in front of the desk. "Good, Harry.... we talked briefly on the phone and I've been doing some research after our phone call. I got your file from the archives. I hope together we can find some clues as to where you come from. Shall we go through the file first?" She asks.

"Yes, please." Harry answers timidly. It's like he is that little boy again, he still feels a bit intimidated by Matron Hernandez.

"Good. Let's see.... you were brought here on September 13th 2000 by Father Ramon from Saint Patrick's church, without any identification or belongings. Apparently you were left at the church by a lady? Do you remember any of this at all?" Matron Hernandez looks at him over her glasses. Harry scrunches his face, frowns and after a while he shakes his head.

"I wish I did.... is there a chance I could speak to Father Ramon?" Harry looks with hope in his eyes at the woman before him.

"He's still at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, would you like me to ring him?" Matron asks.

"Yes, please, I'd like that." Matron doesn't waste any time and picks up the phone on her desk. Within ten minutes the boys are outside the office with an appointment to see Father Ramon.

"Wow, tough lady." Louis says quietly, even he was a bit intimidated by Matron Hernandez' forwardness.

"Yeah, she is... just as I remembered. Do you want a tour through the building?" He asks Louis.

"Not necessarily, unless you'd like to?" Louis says, the place depresses him, he can't imagine how it must have been to grow up in such an environment.

"No thanks, I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible." Harry admits. As soon as they're outside they both take a deep breath.

"That must have been the most depressing place I've ever seen." Louis blurts out.

"It is, although at the time I lived there I didn't feel like that." Harry says as he takes one last look at the building before they turn into a street. "Let's grab something to eat, before we go to the church."  

Saint Patrick's Cathedral is well-known, it's in the middle of Manhattan and it attracts a lot of visitors. By the time they arrive, there's a small queue waiting to enter the cathedral. Harry informs the lady at the door they have an appointment with Father Ramon. She nods and shows them how to get to his office. They thank her and walk into the Cathedral; it's quite impressive.

"It's weird to see such a magnificent building amidst Manhattan's skyscrapers." Louis says, he quite likes the Cathedral.

"It is....I wish I remembered being here, but I don't." Harry is obviously trying hard to remember, it must be exhausting for him. Louis wraps an arm around his shoulder, which Harry thankfully touches with his hand as they make their way through the Cathedral to Father Ramon's office. Just before they turn into a small corridor, Harry tenses a bit. Louis strokes Harry's back to make him relax. In front of an old oak door they halt.

"Okay... we're here." Louis says, he looks at Harry for approval, before he knocks on the door.

"Come in!" a male voice calls. They open the door and Louis introduces them as Harry seems to have lost his tongue somehow. "Come in, boys. It's nice to see you both." Father Ramon is a tall slender man, grey hair and friendly brown eyes. He shakes their hands and then turns to Harry.

"Still the wide green eyes and the dimples, like I remember." He smiles warmly at Harry. Harry smiles at Father Ramon's kind remark, showing that indeed the dimples are still there. "Take a seat boys. Matron Hernandez tells me you're looking for information on how you ended up at the orphanage, Harry."

Harry nods and says "Yes Father, I do. I don't remember anything from before."

"Well you've come to the right place, I'll never forget the first time I saw you. A little, six year old boy with wide green eyes, a rug sack on your back, hiding behind the woman who brought you here, Anna." Father Ramon tells.

"Anna... I remember that name.... silencio..." Harry repeats.

"Ah so you remember Anna, do you remember the ship? Anna worked as a cook in the galley of a ship." Father Ramon softly asks. Louis sees Harry thinking of something he remembers.

"A big ship.... Anna... silencio.... el chico. I was scared, the men were shouting something I didn't understand. I had to stay with Anna in the galley." Harry whispers, there are tears in his eyes." They were bad men." Father Ramon nods.

"I didn't ask anything specifically, but you travelled on a Columbian ship, I assumed they were smuggling drugs the way Anna tried avoiding any questions I had about the ship, its destination and where it came from. All she wanted was to get you off the ship to a safer place." Louis' mouth falls open, it's quite a story. "Do you remember how you got on the boat?" Father Ramon asks. Harry leans his head in his hands and thinks hard.

"There were more ships, a port probably ... don't know where though. It was a long trip on that boat, or that's what I remember." Harry sighs deeply. Louis thinks of something.

"Father Ramon, you said Harry wore a rug sack, but in the files from the orphanage it wasn't mentioned." Harry looks up in surprise. Father Ramon leans back and seems deep in thought.

"If you didn't bring it to the home, it must be here." he says finally. "Anything we find in the Cathedral we keep in the attic of the house, if it's not obtained. Follow me, let's have a look." The boys get up and follow Father Ramon to the house which is behind the Cathedral. He unlocks the door with a key hanging on a chord around his neck and Louis and Harry follow him into the house and several flights of stairs up. They're all panting when they finally arrive at the top. Father Ramon unlocks the door and switches on a light. 

They enter a large room full of furniture and various items. How are they ever gonna find something in here?

"Trust me, there's a system." Father Ramon reassures them when he sees the defeat on both their faces. The room is divided in sections. Father Ramon motions them to follow him. He stops in front of a cabinet. "We have to look in this section, here are the items found between 2000 and 2002.”

"Alright, so ... we just start looking?" Louis asks to make sure.

"Yes, we do!" Father Ramon smiles. Louis scratches his head. They're searching through boxes, behind pieces of old furniture and in cabinets. Father Ramon sighs as he takes a seat on an old chair, Louis comes from behind a few boxes and shakes his head

"Nothing." he says as he goes to stand next to Father Ramon. Harry slowly stands up, holding a small blue children's rug sack in his hand.

His voice is hoarse when he whispers "I think I found it." Louis and Father Ramon stare at him in silence. Harry takes a seat on a chair, he softly strokes the material. "I remember it." he continues. Father Ramon and Louis stay silent. Harry's right hand pulls on the zipper and he slowly looks in the bag.

"It's empty." Louis says.

Then all of a sudden Harry's hand is shaking as he stammers "I put the book about you in this little pocket, remember... it's very important." His hand moves to a small pocket in the bag, shakenly he pulls out a little black book. He looks up to Louis and Father Ramon with tears in his eyes.

"It's a British Passport." Louis' voice croaks when he sees the booklet similar to his own.

Harry carefully opens the passport and reads to Father Ramon and Louis "My name is Harry Edward Styles...." Louis feels light-headed, his knees go weak and his surroundings spin and then he faints... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there, only one chapter to go. I'll keep my fingers crossed more people will read the fic once it's finished.


	7. Fall of 2015 - part 4

**_Summer of 2000: Harry's story_ **

_"Auntie Bev!" Harry looks around. People are hastily passing him by, but none of them is his Aunt Bev. He tries again. "Auntie Bev... where are you?"_ _A young woman looks at him, but walks on. Soon the platform is almost empty, no sign of his aunt. Harry walks with his head down to the stairs, suddenly he sees a woman in a blue coat. "Auntie Bev!" he runs after her and follows her to the train on the opposite side of the platform. He follows her in the compartment to sit down next to her, but to his horror, this woman in the blue coat is not his aunt, she's a total stranger. He quickly flees the compartment, opens a small door and locks it behind him. He slumps down on the floor and cries. "Auntie Bev, where are you?"_

_He's been travelling with his aunt from Holmes Chapel to her house in London, she was going to take care of him now his grandma has died and his parents and sister were still in Oman. Harry had been living with them until a few months ago, because he became sick so often from the heat in the country, his mum had brought him back to England, where he had stayed with his Grandmother and the last couple of weeks with Auntie Bev who had come to take care of him and his sick Grandmother. He sniffs, wipes his tears away with the sleeve of his jacket. He feels tired. He shakes off the rug sack on his back and sets it on the floor next to him, if he curls up enough he can lie down with his head on the rug sack and sleep._

_He wakes up when he hears a voice call. "You have reached our final destination Southampton_ _” and a few sentences he can't quite make out. He sighs, opens the door and peeks around it. It's crowded, people waiting for the doors to open so they can exit the train. When they do, Harry follows them outside and to the stairs that lead to the exit of the train station._

_Outside he watches his fellow travellers going in different directions. He has no idea which way to go, he is on his own in a strange city with only his rug sack, containing a bottle of lemonade, a bag of crisps and the little black book, which is very important apparently, according to his aunt._

_He decides to follow a family with three children, hoping they will lead him to_ _…. To what, he doesn_ _´t know, hopefully a place to sleep. The children are singing the same song repeatedly, so after a few minutes Harry sings along softly. They approach the harbour much to Harry_ _´s joy. He_ _´s always loved ships and the sea. The family turns into a lane near the harbour, where there is a row of cottages. The children run to one of the cottages and knock on the door. After a few minutes an old man opens the door and hugs the family, then the door closes behind the old man and the family. Harry is on his own again. He walks past the cottages, it all looks so cosy inside the houses when he secretly peeks inside through their small windows. It is dark in one of the cottages. The front door isn_ _´t entirely closed. Harry softly pushes against it and peeks inside. It seems uninhabited. No carpet covering the floor, no paintings on the wall in the corridor, so he carefully walks in. The doors are all ajar, the kitchen is empty, no table nor chairs, there isn_ _´t even a stove. He walks on to the next room. There is a fireplace, but otherwise the room is empty. This will perfectly do for the night. He settles down in front of the fireplace on the floor, it isn_ _’t too cold, thanks to the sunny weather outside, the cottage feels quite warm. He takes out the lemonade and the crisps; his dinner for the night. Apart from the voices of the children next door, it is awfully quiet. When he finishes the bag of crisps and the lemonade he lays his head on his rug sack, using it for a pillow, so he can sleep. It takes a while before he finally falls asleep_ _… tomorrow he is going to look for his aunt._

_It is already late in the morning when Harry wakes up. He can hear the voices of the children next door again and when he looks outside the window the sun is already shining brightly. He gathers his things and walks to the front door, that_ _’s where he spots a key on the floor. He picks it up and looks at it with a frown, then he tries the lock on the door: it fits! So_ _… if he can_ _’t find his aunt today, he could return to the house, he contemplates. He locks the door behind him and attaches the key to the key chord he_ _’s always wearing; one of Grandma_ _’s rules. He walks towards the shops on the other side of the small square, there_ _’s a greengrocer_ _’s, a bakery and a butcher. He_ _’s feeling kind of hungry, but hasn_ _’t got any money to pay for food. He sighs when he stands in front of the greengrocer_ _’s. It_ _’s not easy being on your own when you_ _’re only six years old._

_“_ _Hello love, can I help you?_ _” a lady walks outside and smiles at him._

_“_ _I don_ _’t think so._ _” Harry sighs shaking his head._

_“_ _How come?_ _” she asks friendly?._

_“I_ _’m hungry, but I don_ _’t have any money._ _” He answers honestly._ _“_

_Hmm, that_ _’s not good, is it? How about you sweep the pavement in front of the shop and I_ _’ll give you some fruit?_ _” The lady says smilingly._

_“Oh! Could I? Yes, please!_ _” Harry claps in his hands and starts sweeping, his tongue sticking out a little between his lips as he does. The lady watches him and chuckles before she picks up a bag and fills it with two bananas, two apples and three tomatoes. She thanks Harry for his work and hands him the filled bag._ _“_

_Oh_ _… thank you so much, madam!_ _” Harry exclaims when he sees what_ _’s inside the bag. She waves at him and goes back inside._

_Happily he walks back to the cottage, sits in front of the fireplace and eats a banana for breakfast. He's proud of himself, he just earned his very first breakfast all by himself. He can't help but smiling. He wants to go outside again, but his rug sack and the bag with fruit and vegetables are quite heavy, so he puts most of the contents of the bag in the rug sack and takes an apple and a tomato with him, so he has lunch when he's out looking for his aunt._

_Outside he sees three boys chatting and laughing, they make him smile. He quickly closes the door behind him and follows them at a safe distance. The boys walk towards the woods on the edge of town. They hold at a small cottage, where they ring the bell. A door flies open and a giddy blue eyed boy joins the other boys. Harry is fascinated by the boy. He is loud, funny and giggles. They go into the woods singing and laughing, jumping over stones and Harry so wishes he could join them. He stays behind a big tree and watches them. The boys play in the stream, build a dam and pretend they are pirates. The blue eyed boy has a vivid imagination as he comes up with most of the storylines. Harry could listen to him telling stories for hours. The boys stay in the woods until late in the afternoon. Harry has managed to keep hidden from them the entire day. He hears them walking out of the woods and follows them, because he doesn't know his way around town. The boys agree to go back the next day._

_Harry goes back to the woods the next two days, he thinks they've seen him once, but he isn't sure. He sleeps at the cottage and gets his food from either the baker's or the greengrocer's by sweeping floors, after being asked where his parents are he made up the story, that he lives nearby with his Grandmother, but that she is ill, so both the baker and the greengrocers give him enough food to feed two people. On the third day, he sits behind a tree when the blue eyed boy suddenly appears in front of him. He can't believe his luck when he asks if he, Harry, wants to join him and his friends._

_They have fun together, they play and jump around in the water and the blue eyed boy, who is called Tommo, is his favourite. He shares his food with Harry, tells him stories when they sit on a stone together, while the other boys are building a dam. Once he falls asleep with his head in the older boy's lap. When he wakes up again, the boy smiles at him with his ocean blue eyes and tells him it's time to go home and takes him by the hand as they walk to the cottage. Tommo wants to meet his grandmother, but Harry keeps insisting she's too ill to have visitors over. He doesn't want the boy to find out he's been lying to him, he also told the boys his name is Harold, like grandmother used to call him. That way it is as if she's still alive.... he still doesn't know where to look for Auntie Bev._

_The next day the boys take him to the harbour where there's a Tall Ship waiting to sail that night. They admire the ship from the quay for a while until the harbourmaster shows up with the captain of the ship and they are being invited to visit the ship. Harry is so very excited, he wants to see all of it, but Tommo is holding his hand firmly, so he won't get lost on the huge ship. When Tommo walks him home, Harry is determined to go back to the harbour that night to glance at the ship a bit more._

_He's picked up his rug sack, hangs the key back and leaves the cottage that night, preparing for a new adventure. The Tall Ship is still there, but there's another ship next to it, a freight ship. Harry looks around, but doesn't see anyone. He walks over the gangplank to board the ship. He hears voices in the distance so he quickly turns the other way and hides under a canvas. The voices are getting nearer, they speak in a language Harry doesn't understand. When the voices disappear in the distance, Harry relaxes. He feels tired, his eyes won't stay open. It's only a few minutes later when he falls asleep._

_He is woken by two men, shouting words at him he doesn't understand. They grab him by his arms and drag him with them. Harry is scared, very scared. They don't look friendly, nor does the man they're taking him too. That man looks furious and mutters something in the strange language. All he hears is a name....Anna. The two men take him to the galley where a woman is cleaning. They talk to her and then leave him behind. The woman, Anna apparently, talks to him in that same language. She seems a lot friendlier than the men on the boat. She makes him sandwiches and gives him a glass of milk and motions for him to eat and drink._

_Later she leads him to a cabin where there are two beds. Anna points at the top bunk and then points at him. Harry understands he's going to sleep on the top bunkbed. They get ready for the night. It's when he's lying in the bed that he realizes the boat is sailing.... to who knows where. So he's on adventure, just not on the boat he planned to board for his adventure._

_The next two weeks he spends on board of the ship, trying to avoid the men who are not happy he's travelling with them. Anna is nice to him; their conversations consist of hand gestures. Harry learned that he has to be quiet when Anna says "Silencio" and apparently he's either ni_ _ño or chico. Anna takes care of him, makes sure he's fed and sings for him in the galley and in their cabin._

_One night when he's in their cabin, he notices the ship isn't moving. He looks through the tiny window and sees they're in a harbour; he hears footsteps approaching the cabin and a moment later Anna comes in, telling him to be quiet as she packs his rug sack and helps him in his jacket. She grabs his hand when they leave the cabin and walk upstairs. It's dark everywhere, Anna looks around and then quickly walks over the gangplank, dragging Harry with her. Harry wants to ask her where they're going, but he knows it's no use, Anna wouldn't understand a word he says, so he just runs with her._

_After a while they reach a church, a big church. Anna stops and pants before she knocks on the door impatiently. When the door opens Harry looks up to a tall man in what seems a long dress._

_"Yes? How can I help you madam?" the man says and Harry can't help smiling, finally someone who speaks his language! Anna however, doesn't speak English so she rattles something in her own language, the man responds in the same language and before Harry understands what's happening, Anna turns to him with tears in her eyes, places a soft kiss on his head and says "Adios, chico..._ _” and then she quickly leaves._

_“No...wait.... Anna!" Harry screams. "_

_It's alright, boy. You're in safer hands now. Come in." the man says. Inside he introduces himself as Father Ramon and tells a bit about himself and the church before he asks Harry a few questions. "_

_What is your name?" Harry frowns._

_"I'm Harry." he answers, but when asked what his last name is... he doesn't know. Grandma called him Harold, Auntie Bev called him Harry.... most people call him Harry._

_"_ _Don't know, sir." he says honestly. Nor does he know where he's from. Father Ramon looks at him and then says. "_

_Look Harry, you're in New York now. Tomorrow I'll bring you to a home where there are lots of children living, until we find out where you're from and who you are._ _“Father Ramon takes him to a room with a single bed._ _“You can sleep here tonight. After breakfast tomorrow we'll bring you to your new home."_

_In bed Harry thinks. He's probably far from Auntie Bev now, frankly he doesn't miss her really. He was never fond of her. His Grandma died, his mum left him. He might as well enjoy living with other children in a house. There's something soothing about sleeping near a church. He's tired, his eyes feel heavy, and all he wants now is to sleep._

_Father Ramon wakes him and after Harry has washed himself, he joins Father Ramon for breakfast. "_

_Did you sleep well?"_

_"Yes, I did, thank you."_ _Harry says politely. They eat breakfast in silence. After breakfast they walk to a huge building close to the church. When Harry looks around he sees there are lots of big buildings surrounding the church, he's definitely never been here before. Father Ramon knocks on the door and when the door is opened by a young lady he asks for Matron Hernandez. The young lady lets them in and shows Father Ramon the way to Matron Hernandez' office. She motions for Harry to sit on a bench opposite the office._

_While waiting he can hear lots of children's voices somewhere in the building, boys and girls with funny accents. The building is huge with lots of dark wood, making it look a little gloomy. High ceilings and windows, tiled dark green floors, not a cosy home, he thinks. "_

_Harry, you can come in now. Welcome to St. Patricks!"_ _Matron Hernandez stands in the doorway from her office._  

 

Louis, Louis!"  Father Ramon is calling his name. Slowly Louis opens his eyes. Father Ramon is on his right side and Harry kneels beside him on the left, looking terrified and pale.

"I'm sorry..." Louis says, reaching out to Harry, softly stroking his thumb over Harry's cheek.

"Why?  You just fainted, no need to be sorry for that, I nearly fainted too." Harry says, covering Louis' hand with his own.

"No... no, I didn't mean that. I should have known who you are." Louis whispers. He gets up, still feeling a little dizzy.

"Here, sit on the chair. I'll get us all a drink: this calls for something stronger than water." Father Ramon says. Harry looks at Louis in confusion. He takes a seat next to Louis, who is leaning his head in his hands. Father Ramon comes back with a bottle of Scotch and three glasses. They all gulp down the whisky from their glass and then Father Ramon says: "So... you're British."

Harry shrugs and whispers "Apparently." he fiddles with the passport as if he can't believe it's his'.

"You are, love." Louis sighs deeply." God, I don't even know where to start." he rubs his hands over his face. Harry looks at him, confusion and angst all written over his face.

"You say it, like you knew me before." Harry says hesitantly.

"I did, Harry. Do you remember anything now?" Louis wants to know.

"I think it was my aunt who said something about the little book in the bag..." Harry says with a frown.

"Auntie Bev..." Louis tries.

Harry's eyes widen "Yes! That's it Auntie Bev... and Grandma... she's dead." Harry's shoulders slump at that last memory. He looks sad. Louis covers Harry's hand with his own.

"I know... your Grandma died in July of 2000. You were travelling with your aunt from Manchester to London, where you lost your aunt at Victoria Station." Louis tells him in a soft voice.

"H...how do you know?" Harry looks at him with wide eyes.

“Harry, you have a sister called Gemma, do you remember her at all?" Louis says carefully.

"Gemma..." Harry frowns and thinks, but shakes his head. "I don't..." he whispers.

“I’ve met her a while ago after she appeared on a TV show called "Missing"." And then he tells both Harry and Father Ramon about the programme and his meeting with Harry's sister. Both men have tears in their eyes when Louis' finishes his story.

"Oh my God, I actually have a family." Harry cries out.

"I have Gemma's phone number, Harry. I can contact her whenever you're ready for it." Harry's lips tremble and suddenly he breaks down. Louis is immediately on his knees in front of Harry, wrapping his arms around him, cradling him in his arms like a baby. Father Ramon fills the glasses again, and gulps one down.

After a few more sobs Harry relaxes a bit and then he asks with a hoarse voice "You still haven't told me how you knew me." Louis sits down in front of Harry's chair and looks at him intently.

"Hello Harold, do you remember four little boys playing in the woods? My name is Louis, but my friends call me Tommo." he says. Harry's eyes widen and his mouth falls open.

"You're Tommo? The storyteller? The one who walked me back to the cottage every day? Oh my God, I remember that! Oh Louis, I do remember! Playing with you and your friends, listening to your stories and the Tall Ship!" Harry jumps up, his eyes shining bright and for the first time since his identity was revealed he smiles, he genuinely smiles. Louis gets up and smiles at him.

"That was me and yes... you were mesmerized by the Tall Ship, that's why we thought you might have gone on that ship... on adventure, after we discovered you disappeared."

"I went on a ship...not the Tall Ship, but another one." Harry remembers vaguely.

"The one that brought you here.” Father Ramon chips in.

"So ... what do we do now?" Harry asks.

"Well... first thing tomorrow we contact the British Consulate and explain your situation, then hopefully you get a new valid passport and then we could go to the UK..." Louis plans.

"You'll come with me, right?" Harry asks anxiously.

"Of course, I promised I would, didn't I?" Louis runs his hand through Harry's curls. They chat for a while with Father Ramon, thank him for his help and support and promise to keep him updated on their progress.

That night in bed Harry cuddles up to Louis, still trying to process the events of the day. He's got an identity now, he keeps repeating his full name "Harry Edward Styles", trying to get used to it. Louis holds him the entire night, stroking his back and kissing the curls on his head.

They visit the British Consulate the next day after they made an appointment and explained Harry's situation. They take fingerprints, a photo and because of the extraordinary nature of Harry's visit, the passport will be ready the next day instead of the usual five days it takes to renew a passport. 

That day they spend talking to Taylor and the family on Skype; everyone is excited. So is Niall, he almost screams when Harry tells him the news on the phone. Louis phones Liam.

"Hi...I've got a bit of news for you." he says when Liam answers his phone. "I'm coming home in a few days and I'm taking my boyfriend with me." he winks at Harry, who's almost falling from his chair from laughing when Louis, who's put Liam on speaker, says so. Liam is shouting through his phone.

"Your boyfriend!! Geez, how long have you been there, you move quickly in the States!"

"Calm down, it's only Harry... Harry Edward Styles." Louis informs him. A silence on the other side.

"Louis... are you saying that you and Harry are back together and .... that he's the boy that went missing? “Liam almost chokes on his words.

“Yes Liam, correct. We only found out yesterday. We'll tell you the entire story when we're in London. I take it you don't mind if Harry stays with us? “Louis asks softly.

“No... that's great. I'm glad you two got back together and I'm looking forward to seeing him again. Text me when you arrive, will you?" Liam answers.

Nervously Harry opens his new passport: Harry Edward Styles it says next to his picture. He wraps his arms around Louis' neck.

"I can't believe I finally have my identity back ... officially." The man behind the counter smiles at them and says "Good luck on your journey, Mr. Styles." Harry smiles and thanks him. They book a flight to London for the next day.

"So done! We're going!" Louis leans back in the cushions on the bed.

"Louis?" Harry says, he looks nervous.

"Do you think now is a good time to call Gemma?" Louis sits up and looks at the time on his mobile.

"It's 8 pm in the UK, it's a perfect time, Harry. Do you want me to make the call now?" He looks at Harry expectantly. Harry nods.

"Yes...please." 

Louis pats on the bed next to him, wanting Harry to be close when he calls. He scrolls through his contacts and presses call when he finds Gemma's number.

"Gemma? Hi, it's Louis... Tomlinson, remember me?" He giggles when Gemma responds with a "ah, yes the famous writer." Harry looks at him in surprise. "Listen... I've got some great news for you, you better sit down." he says in a soft voice." I found your brother, we're flying from New York to London tomorrow." The scream through the phone is almost deafening followed by what seems like a thousand questions. "Calm down, yes, I'm serious. It's a long story, too long for a phone call, but if you want I can put him on." He looks at Harry questioningly. At first Harry looks shocked, but then reaches for the phone. "Here he comes." Louis tells Gemma. 

"Hello?" Harry's voice is shaking. Louis strokes Harry's back, trying to relax the boy.

"Harry? Oh my God, I can't believe Louis found you! Do you remember me at all?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. I don't remember much. I remember Grandma died and vaguely I remember Auntie Bev, but that's all I'm afraid." Harry says in a soft tone.

"No need to apologize, little brother. You were only six when we lost you. I can't wait to meet you. Let me know when you guys want to come up here, alright?" Gemma responds.

"We will. Gemma... it's nice hearing your voice, knowing I have a sister, even though I can't remember you." Harry ends the call after Gemma says goodbye. Harry keeps staring at the phone for minutes after, until Louis carefully removes it from his hand. Harry looks at him with a smile. "Unbelievable... I just spoke to my sister." Louis just smiles back and kisses him on the cheek.

The flight from JFK to Heathrow is not a pleasant one; in stormy weather and rain they fly from New York to London. Louis is quiet and Harry is nervous, definitely not the kind of flight they had envisioned. Both of them are glad when they approach the London Airport. There's a sigh of relief from Louis when they land safely on Britain's soil. Harry can't help but let out a nervous chuckle.

"This has to be the worst flight ever!" Louis says when they leave the plane, still looking a bit pale. "Welcome back to misty England!" he adds. He grabs Harry's hand. Harry looks a bit forlorn. "Come on, let's get our luggage." Louis doesn't let go of Harry's hand when they walk to the baggage claim to pick up their suitcases. It only takes a few minutes before they each grabbed their belongings and walk through customs. Louis scans the area for signs of Liam.

"Lou!" he hears a shout. Liam almost runs towards them and takes them both in a bear hug. "Glad you guys are here. The weather's been nasty. How was the flight?"

"Terrible!" Louis says heartfelt as Liam let's go of them.

"How are you, Harry?" Liam asks the curly boy.

"Considering all that is happening... not bad, but kind of tired." Harry admits with a small smile. He's not sure how to react, after all it's been a few years and he was the one who broke up with Louis.

"Let's get back to our apartment then. My car's not far from here."

Louis and Liam chat a little in the front, while Harry sits in the back looking at the city through a raindrops stained window, trying to catch a glimpse of the British capital. He sighs deeply.

"What is it?" Louis asks as he turns his head to watch Harry.

"Nothing really, just tired. And the weather is not helping. I'd hoped to see some of London from the car." Harry pouts. Louis chuckles.

"Sorry love, better get used to this..." he winks at Liam. Harry sticks out his tongue, he knows Louis is just joking. "I promise, it's not always like this. I'll show you the highlights when the weather gets better, alright?" he reaches out his hand to pat Harry's knee. Harry smiles at him.

"Thank you."

"I figured Harry shares your room, so I didn't make up a spare bed." Liam says when they're in the flat, the suitcases are placed against the wall, to keep them from blocking the hallway.

"Really?" Louis crosses his arms and leans against the doorway. Liam blushes and Harry giggles.

"Sorry.... just assumed.... since you said boyfriend..." Liam stutters.

"Oh Liam, he's just teasing you. Of course we share... just hope you have earplugs... Lou is kinda loud in bed." Harry chips in with a smug face. Liam's cheeks are turning into a deep red. Louis bursts out in laughter.

"Too much information Harry. I think I better make us some tea!" Liam manages to say and quickly walks to the kitchen.

The evening they spend telling Liam how they met again and how they found out Harry's identity.

"I remember watching the programme with Louis. I can tell you, you've got a pretty sister." Liam tells Harry.

Harry smiles and winks "Must be our genes." At that they all laugh.

"Come to think of it, we could try to find the episode online.... I mean, if you want." Louis says in thought while looking at Harry.

"I don't know..., part of me wants to see it, but I don't think I'm ready to be confronted with relatives I haven't seen in person yet." Harry says quietly.

"Of course, I understand... it was just something that crossed my mind, that's all." Louis answers.

"Let's go to bed, Louis."

When Louis comes back to his bedroom after having brushed his teeth, he finds Harry already asleep. He sighs a bit disappointed. Since they found out about Harry's identity they only cuddled. Harry was either too tired or too emotional to want more. Louis climbs in bed next to him and wraps his arm around Harry's waist.

It's three days later, having slept off the jetlag and spending a day sightseeing in London, they are on their way to Holmes Chapel to meet Gemma. They all agreed it would be better to meet her first before meeting Harry's father and mother, who are still oblivious to the fact that their son has returned. Louis has lend Liam's car for a few days.

"It's hard to believe I'm finally going to meet my sister, Lou. I'm so nervous. I feel like throwing up." Harry is a big mess. Louis understands.

"It's a big thing... meeting family after such a long time, but trust me, Harry, your sister is a nice young lady."

Thanks to sat nav, Louis is steering the car without any problem to Holmes Chapel. He stops in front of the house and watches Harry. He sees a frown between his boyfriend's eyebrows, that oh so familiar frown, which of course had belonged to little Harold.

"Do you recognize it?" Louis almost whispers.

"Vaguely, I think there used to be a trampoline in the front garden." Harry says. They get out of the car and slowly walk to the front door.

"Ready?" Louis asks before he rings the bell.

"Yeah...." Harry whispers nervously, his hands deep in the pockets of his coat. Louis rings twice. The door is opened by an equally nervous blonde girl. Louis coughs.

"Hi Gemma....we're here." he says and then puts a hand on Harry's shoulder. "This is Harry... your brother." 

"Hi...” Harry says while he looks shyly at the girl in front of him. The girl doesn't waste time. She throws her arms around her brother's neck.

"I'm so happy to see you, welcome home, Hazza." she says. Tears are in her eyes. Harry wraps his arms around his sister and chokingly says.

“I remember that! You always called me Hazza!" They both sob in each other's arms. Louis feels tears falling from his eyes over his cheeks at the sight of brother and sister being reunited. All of a sudden he feels two arms around him.

"Thank you Louis, for bringing him back." Gemma hugs him tightly. Harry wipes his tears away with the sleeve of his coat as he watches his sister and boyfriend.

In the kitchen, with a large teapot on the table and a jar of biscuits, they sit together. Louis and Harry telling Gemma how they found out about Harry's identity.

"You two knew each other?" Gemma looks at them suspiciously. Harry and Louis both blush.

"Uhm... yeah we met in 2012, when I was on holiday in the States and uhm... we were .... involved." Louis explains with flustered cheeks. Gemma raises her eyebrows and looks at him, expecting more. "We broke up... you know it wouldn't work, me living here and him over there. I met him again last week and ... well, we're gonna try again." Louis explains helplessly. Harry isn't much help, he just sits there with red cheeks. Gemma chuckles.

"So I get a brother... and a future brother-in-law back." Louis grins and so does Harry. "I'm happy for you guys." Gemma says in a soft tone. "Harry.... do you want to see your room? We kept it like it was when you... “Harry nods. Upstairs Gemma opens the door and Harry steps inside. He looks around and smiles when he sees the Disney posters.

"I still like Disney movies." he says. His eye catches the bear on the bed. His eyes widen as he picks it up. "Mr. Snuggles!" he exclaims, looking at his sister and boyfriend in triumph.

"You remember the bear!" Gemma claps her hands for her mouth in surprise. Harry beams.

"I do!" he cradles the bear in his arms. "Mr. Snuggles travelled in Auntie Bev's suitcase." he remembers. Gemma nods. Harry places the bear back on his old bed. Gemma gives them a tour around the house. Unfortunately Harry doesn't remember much. Gemma tells him about living in Oman and how he got sick often and that's why their mother had brought him back to England to live with Grandmother. In the living room she shows Harry a picture of his grandmother. "She called me Harold." Harry holds the frame in his hands. "She died when I was living with her and then Auntie Bev took me on the train." he looks up to Gemma.

"Yeah... she did."

"I lost Auntie Bev at a station, I took the wrong train." he says when he puts down the picture. "Are there any pictures of mum and dad?" Gemma picks up a photobook and opens it. At the second page Harry points to a picture. "That's mum!" he whispers. Gemma looks at Louis with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, that is our mum."

Then Harry looks at the picture below and says "I look exactly like dad." Gemma agrees.

"You've got his features." Although Gemma invited them to stay over, they declined; Harry needing time to himself to process what's happening. Gemma is going to call her dad to make an appointment to meet at the home her mum is staying at.

                                                                                                                                                      ******

The home is housed in a nice mansion with a huge garden.

"Mum suffers from depressions. Her doctor and the staff know she's going to meet her son today, just in case. Dad only knows it's important for me that he's here today. He texted he's already with mum." Gemma informs them. "Are you ready to meet them, Harry?" He nods in silence and grabs Louis' hand.

"Come on, love. I'll be with you." Louis reassures him, squeezing Harry's hand a little. Gemma leads them through the building to her mum's room. They all take a deep breath, Gemma looks at Harry for approval to knock on the door. He gives a small smile, still holding Louis' hand, almost crushing it.

"Come in." a woman's voice says. Gemma walks in and hugs her mum and dad.

"Hi mum... dad. Good to see you both. I have something to tell you, I want you to meet someone." Gemma says nervously.

Her dad smiles and says "So you finally met a guy worthwhile to introduce to us?" he teases.

"Uhm... kind of, but not in the way you're implying." She glares at her dad. Her mum is just looking at her expectantly. Gemma walks back to the door, where Harry and Louis are waiting to be introduced. "Mum... dad, I want you to meet Louis, who's very special to me.” She pulls Louis inside, who's still holding Harry's hand. "Because he brought your son and my brother back to us. Mum... dad, this is Harry." she continues as she takes Harry's other hand.

Harry looks up from under his eyelashes and says shyly "Hi." Both parents sit there with their mouths open and wide eyes, staring at the curly boy in front of them. Their dad jumps up and hugs Harry and then leans back to scan his face.

"It really is you; the wide green eyes. Dimples still there?" Harry can't help but smile. "Oh yes, they're still there. And look at you, you've got my curls... that's where they went!" Dad says as he runs his hand over his almost bold head. They all chuckle and the tension in the room is gone. "Welcome back, son!" he welcomes his son. His mum rises from her chair and walks over to him, tears in her eyes, but also a hint of happiness flickering in her eyes.

"Harry.... look at you.... all grown up." She stands in front of him, reaches out her hand to touch his cheek and then she wraps her arms around Harry's waist and just holds him tight. Harry wraps his arms around the woman's shoulders and hugs her back. It all feels a bit strange, hugging people he doesn't really know, but who know him... well, the little Harry that disappeared. Their dad hugs Louis.

"Thank you for bringing him back. I can't wait to hear the entire story... but for now... you're my hero!" Louis' eyes fill up with tears at hearing Harry's dad say this to him. Harry's mum looks at him and walks to him, cups his face.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you, Louis." They sit for about two hours together asking each other random questions about Harry's life, what he remembers, their lives and how Louis got into Harry's and Gemma's life. They leave, promising to come back the next day. Their mum needs to rest after a morning full of emotions.

The next few days are filled with visits to the home and to dad's house, trying to get to know each other. Although they involve him in everything, Louis feels like an outsider. He's not part of the family. When he receives a text from Miranda, telling him she heard he's back, unexpectedly and if he would mind coming to work for a bit, it's about his book, he makes a decision.

"Harry.... I need to go back to London. I got a text from work, it's about my book." he says that night when they're in bed. He's staring at the ceiling. He hopes Harry wants to come back with him.

"Yes... of course, I understand. Would you mind if I stay here... I mean dad and Gemma arranged a family and friends reunion, would be weird if I'm not here."

Ah... Louis didn't know that, he swallows the lump in his throat.

"No... no, of course you have to stay, get to know your family and all. You can come back later... if you want. “He quickly answers.

Harry kisses him and says "I knew you would understand... thank you." And then he turns to his side and falls asleep. Louis sighs quietly. It's hard, he feels Harry is slipping away from him again, surrounded by people who all want him, get to know him....again. Of course Harry needs to stay, he does understand, but it also scares him.

The next day he says goodbye to the family, Harry walks him to the car. Louis puts his suitcase in the trunk and closes it. He turns to Harry.

"Take good care of yourself....I'm going to miss you." he whispers as he rubs his thumb over Harry's cheek. Suddenly Harry's lips are on his’, urgently and desperate.

"I don't want you to go, but I can't leave my family either... not yet. I'm going to miss you so much." Harry's voice is hoarse as he's swallowing his tears.

"You can come back whenever you like... I'll wait for you." Louis swallows his own tears and gives Harry a last kiss before he leaves for London in Liam's car... on his own.

"You're back! without Harry...." Liam says, looking concerned. Louis nods.

"Yeah, they set up a family and friends reunion for him, would be weird if he didn't attend and I got a text from Miranda to come into the office, something important about my book. So here I am... without Harry. “He answers and then groans "I already miss him... “

“Oh mate..." Liam hugs his friend.

They're going to publish Louis' book in the US and there are plans for translations in French, Spanish and German. Louis is over the moon; his debut is doing better than he could have ever imagined.

He texts Harry and gets a reply "Wow, my boyfriend's becoming a bestseller author! Proud of you xxx" Louis smiles at the response and then goes to sleep. He misses Harry, a lot. The smell of his hair, the feel of his arms around him, their conversations, the dimples in his cheeks and his smile.

Weeks pass and the texts become fewer, Louis receives updates from Harry about people he meets, and he seems to get on especially well with a guy called Jonny. He's in almost all the pictures Harry sends Louis. Louis' birthday and Christmas passed by. Harry apologizing for not making it to his birthday as the family had organized a huge family dinner on Christmas Eve... on Louis' birthday and it wouldn't make sense to leave on Christmas day; the first Christmas with his parents and sister in all those years.

"I think I'm losing him, Liam." Louis says to Liam as they spend the night on the couch watching Marvel movies. "I know he needs to spend time with his family, getting to know them, celebrate special occasions with them. I know it's important, but I can't help feeling he's slipping away from me again. And I don't think I can go through that again." He leans his head against the back of the couch.

"I know Louis, I'm worried too. It's quite normal for him to be spending time with his family, of course it is. I just worry about you, what this is doing to you. I've been through the heartbreak with you and I don't want you to experience that ever again."Liam wraps his arm around Louis' shoulders.

It's New Year's Eve. Liam and Louis are getting ready to go out. It's 10 pm and they're about to leave for a party at Sophia's place when there's a knock on the door.

"I'll get it! Wonder who it is though." Louis shouts to Liam, who's still contemplating about what shirt to wear to the party. Louis opens the door and is about to ask "Can I help you?" when there are two strong arms around his neck and his lips are almost crushed under another pair of full pink lips.

"Harry!" he exclaims when Harry pulls back to take a breath.

"I couldn't stay away any longer, I missed you so very much. Please say you still want me, please?" Louis sees the look in Harry's eyes. He's scared. Louis pulls him inside and wraps his own arms around Harry's neck.

"Of course I still want you, you idiot! I missed you so much, it hurt." He says passionately and then his lips are on Harry's again.

"Hmm, hmm" Liam coughs. “Don’t think you'll be coming with me to the party?" Louis waves goodbye with his hand, his lips not leaving Harry's. "Thought so. Have fun!" Liam grins and leaves the flat. The next hour Harry and Louis spend catching up on lost time... physically. They're lying naked on Louis' bed, still panting from their orgasms.

"God I missed this." Louis admits. He's running his hand through Harry's curls. Harry smiles softly.

"Me too." Then he leans up on his elbows. "I've got you something, let me get it." He jumps out of bed, naked and picks up his jeans and feels in one of the pockets and then jumps back onto the bed, under the duvet and hands Louis a little velvet box. Louis looks at him in surprise.

"For my birthday?" he asks with raised eyebrows.

"Not especially, it's ... forever. It's what you mean to me." Harry says shyly. Louis carefully opens the dark blue velvet box. Inside is a silver necklace with a pendant "faith-hope-love". Louis picks it up with shaking hands.

"Will you put it around my neck?" he whispers, swallowing the lump in his throat. Harry takes the necklace from Louis' hands and puts it around his neck. "I love it... thank you so much." Louis says softly.

Harry cups his face "You gave me faith, hope and most of all .... love. As much as I like my new found family. You are my true home. I love you, Louis."

"Love you too, with all my heart." Louis whispers back and then they kiss.... just as the fireworks go off: the start of a Happy New Year!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it : the final chapter. For those of you who read it, I hope you liked it :-) 
> 
> Here's the
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr post](http://noellehenry.tumblr.com/post/149239127384/that-summer-by-noellehenry-summary-louis-is-a)  
> 


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